Bellator 119 took place on Friday night at Casino Rama in Canada and Daniel Weichel won the season ten featherweight tournament with a second round submission victory over Desmond Green.
During the opening round, Green was able to use his reach advantage to pick his spots. He would attempt to get the fight to the mat in the final minute of the round and the fighters battled against the cage.
As the second round opened, Weichel would land a right hand that dropped Green, who went to his wrestling background to survive the flurry of strikes. He would be able to get back to his feet, but Weichel would land another right hand that put Green on the floor. He immediately looked for the rear-naked choke and once it was locked in, Green tapped out.
Weichel (34-8) will now wait for his title shot in the Bellator featherweight division and two of his wins in this tournament came by rear-naked choke submission. With this submission win, Weichel is now tied with multiple fighters for the second most submission wins in Bellator featherweight division history.
Alessio snaps 4 fight unbeaten streak with decision victory
The co-main event of the fight card was a catchweight bout of 160 pounds as John Alessio snapped a four fight unbeaten streak as he scored a decision victory over Eric Wisely.
Alessio was able to push the pace throughout all three rounds as he landed more strikes in every round. During the opening round, Alessio took the fight to the ground and worked his top game for nearly the entire round. The fight would be on the feet for all five minutes of the second round and Alessio continued to push the pace and land more frequently.
In the final round, Alessio scored a takedown and dominated the round. All three judges would score it a clean sweep for Alessio (35-17, 1NC) and this is his first victory since 2012.
Zaromskis gets first victory since 2012
In the only welterweight bout on the main card, Marius Zaromskis scored his first victory in 589 days as he defeated Vaughn Anderson by unanimous decision.
Nearly the entire fight would be on the feet with Zaromskis throwing 99 more strikes and landing 46 more strikes than Anderson. In each round, Zaromskis attacked the lead leg of Anderson and the effects of the kicks began to show in the final round.
As the third round was coming to an end, Zaromskis scored a takedown and landed a flurry of punches on the ground. The fight would go to the scorecards and two of the three judges had all three rounds for Zaromskis.
Zaromskis (20-8, 1NC) snaps a two fight losing streak with this victory and he has now won four of his six fights in Bellator. Anderson (16-3-1) has now dropped both of his fights in Bellator and this is his first career defeat by decision.
Butler and Rossborough fight to a majority draw
The opening bout of the main card was a heavyweight bout as Raphael Butler and Nick Rossborough fought to a majority draw due to Butler being deducted a point in the first round.
As the fight opened, Butler was able to use a trip to get the fight to the ground and worked his top game. Butler would end up leaving the position and the fighters moved back to the center of the cage. Rossborough would land a left hook that dropped Butler and he immediately jumped on the back of Butler and looked for a rear-naked choke submission.
Butler defended the submission attempts and would end up throwing a headbutt and the referee would come in to pause the fight. Rossborough would be able to continue, but the referee did not restart the fight on the ground and would have them restart on the feet. The fighters would end up exchanging big punches against the cage and they would make it to the end of the round.
The second and third rounds would be dominated by Butler as he was able to get the fight to the ground and and 50 strikes, compared to the 8 strikes of Rossborough. The fight would go to the scorecards, with two of the three judges scoring the fight a draw.
The complete Bellator 119 results are below.
Main Card: (Spike TV)
Daniel Weichel def. Desmond Green via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:07
John Alessio def. Eric Wisely via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marius Zaromskis def. Vaughn Anderson via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Raphael Butler vs. Nick Rossborough declared a majority draw (28-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
Stuart Austin def. Craig Hudson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:56
Marlon Sandro def. Chris Horodecki via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Brian Rogers def. Adrian Miles via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 1:29
Jason Meisel def. Remy Bussieres via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Malcolm Gordon def. Chris Kelades via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Behrang Yousefi def. Chad Freeman via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:47