Jorge Masvidal

Alvarez, Lombard Earn Bellator Titles

Philadelphia native Eddie Alvarez and American Top Team product Hector Lombard were both awarded title belts from the upstart Bellator Fighting Championships promotion following clinching wins in their respective tournament finals on Friday night.

Those in attendance at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida saw Alvarez score a second-round submission of Toby Imada in the Bellator welterweight final while Lombard bloodied and battered previously unbeaten prospect Jared Hess until the ringside doctor halted their middleweight title bout in the fourth round.

Other notable fights saw Jorge Masvidal submit Eric Reynolds with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their bout and Rosi Sexton defeat Valerie Coolbaugh via submission as well.

 

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Imada’s Insane Submission of Masvidal

If you haven’t seen the video of this yet, you can catch it above. During the third round of a come-from-behind effort in the Bellator lightweight tournament semi-finals on Friday night, Toby Imada submits Jorge Masvidal with one of the most creative triangle chokes in history. Video of the sub starts at the 0:26 mark.

Alvarez Wins, Masvidal Upset at Bellator V

Philadelphia native Eddie Alvarez secured his spot in Bellator Fighting Championships’ first-ever lightweight tournament finals on Friday night, controlling upstart opponent Eric Reynolds for over twelve minutes before submitting him with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their main event attraction.

Strikeforce veteran Jorge Masvidal was expected to meet Alvarez in the finals but will instead be watching the remainder of the tourney as a spectator. Masvidal played down the skills of Toby Imada during the weeks before their semi-final fight, but ended up succumbing to an impressive modified triangle choke in the third round of their fight.

A number of notable veterans were also in action on Bellator’s fifth event. Former EliteXC heavyweight standout Dave Herman picked up a much-needed win over Josh Barnes. Dan Evensen also scored a second-round stoppage of Raoul Romero while fellow UFC veteran Sherman Pendergarst fell to Total Combat product Joey Beltran.

Complete results from the event:

Eddie Alvarez def. Eric Reynolds - Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), R3
Toby Imada def. Jorge Masvidal - Submission (Triangle Choke), R3
Dave Herman def. Josh Barnes - TKO (Strikes), R2
Dan Evensen def. Raoul Romero - TKO (Strikes), R2
Joey Beltran def. Sherman Pendergarst - TKO (Strikes), R1
Justin Edwards def. John Troyer - Submission (Guillotine Choke), R1
Matt Jaggers def. Peter Dominguez - Submission (Choke), R1
Waylon Lowe def. Frank Carabello - Unanimous Decision
Jessica Pene def. Tammie Schneider - TKO (Strikes), R1

Bellator Fighting Championships Announce Signing of Jorge Masvidal

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — Bellator Fighting Championships, a first of its kind mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, officially announced today the exclusive signing of Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, one of Florida’s top fighters.

As the latest addition to the lightweight (155 lb.) division of Bellator’s tournament, premiering on ESPN Deportes April 4, 2009, Masvidal is poised for a breakout performance on the national MMA scene.

A Cuban-American and native of Miami, Florida, Masvidal has become known for routinely beating fighters that are larger and more well-known than he is. Wins over the likes of former IFL champion Ryan Schultz and UFC standout Joe Lauzon earned him the moniker of Florida’s top Lightweight, a title that he solidified with an eight-bout win streak in the following months.

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Gomi Upset; Santiago and Kitaoka Win Tourneys at Sengoku VI

Despite being one of the world’s top-ranked lightweights for a number of years, Takanori Gomi fell victim to World Victory Road’s mediocre roster of 155 lb. fighters as he lost a split decision to M-1 veteran Sergey Golyaev at Sengoku IV on Saturday morning in Japan.

“The Fireball Kid” was unable to get past Golyaev’s swift striking, which earned the Russian points early and often during their battle. Golyaev used his reach advantage to keep Gomi at a distance throughout their battle and even dropped him with a left hook in the second round. Despite the loss, Gomi will likely challenge WVR lightweight tournament winner Satoru Kitaoka at the organization’s January 4 event. Kitaoka bested Kazunori Yokota and Eiji Mitsuoka to win the inaugural tourney.

UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jorge Santiago continued his run through the middleweight division by stopping Siyar Bahadurzada and former PRIDE light heavyweight standout Kazuhiro Nakamura en route to winning the middleweight grand prix.

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Fight of the Day: Masvidal vs. Healy

From “Strikeforce at the Dome” on February 23, 2008, here’s lightweight prospect Jorge Masvidal taking on Team Quest product Ryan Healy.

Schultz-Masvidal Added to Sengoku V

World Victory Road has announced three scheduled bouts for their upcoming Sengoku V show, which will take place on September 28 at the Yoyogi National First Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

Former IFL lightweight champion Ryan Schultz, who was knocked out by Mizuto Hirota at Sengoku IV last weekend, will take on American Top Team product Jorge Masvidal in a main card lightweight affair. Masvidal has not fought since losing to Rodrigo Damm at Sengoku III via second-round TKO.

Two first-round matchups for the promotion’s inaugural middleweight grand prix were also made official. Longtime veteran Yuki Kondo will take on Yuki Sasaki while Siyar Bahadurzada will go up against Chute Boxe’s Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.

Additional participants already announced for the show include Jorge Santiago and Kazuhiro Nakamura, who will both compete in the middleweight tournament, as well as grappling wizards Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro and Roger Gracie.

More “Sengoku V” Participants Announced

World Victory Road has announced the names of an additional four participants for their scheduled “Sengoku V” show, which will take place on September 28th at the Yoyogi National First Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

Strikeforce veteran Yuki Sasaki will join Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, Jorge Santiago, Kazuhiro Nakamura, and Siyar Bahadurzada as those competing in the first round of the organization’s inaugural middleweight grand prix. The winner of next Saturday’s middleweight bout between Frank Trigg and Makoto Takimoto is expected to join the tournament at a later date as well.

In addition to Sasaki, Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro, Roger Gracie and Jorge Masvidal have been announced as fighting at the event as well. Opponents were not given for any of the aforementioned fighters but will likely be announced following the completion of “Sengoku IV” next weekend.

Yoshida, Wiuff Victorious at Sengoku III

Japanese legend and former Olympic judoka Hidehiko Yoshida was victorious this weekend at World Victory Road’s third “Sengoku” show, submitting former UFC heavyweight champion Maurice Smith with a neck crank in the first round of their main event bout.

Yoshida went right in for a takedown to start the bout but his attempt was stuffed by Smith, who punished Yoshida with punches for even trying to take the fight to the ground. Yoshida was able to maintain his composure and after a brief exchange on the feet, was finally able to take Smith down. A scramble allowed Yoshida to quickly grab ahold of Smith’s neck and Yoshida locked in a modified neck crank that forced the longtime veteran to tap out just minutes into the fight.

The win snapped a three-fight losing streak for Yoshida, who needed to be victorious in order to maintain his headliner status inside the promotion. The loss was Smith’s first since he came out of retirement following a seven-year hiatus.

YAMMA Pit Fighting tournament champion Travis Wiuff knocked out fan-favorite Kazuyuki Fujita in the first round. Also victorious on the card were Marcio Cruz, former PRIDE grand prix winner Kazuo Misaki, and current BodogFight welterweight champion Nick Thompson.

Complete results from the event:

Fabio Silva def. Yoshiki Takahashi - KO (Knee)
Rodrigo Damm def. Jorge Masvidal - TKO (Strikes)
Marcio Cruz def. Mu Bae Choi - Submission (Modified Triangle)
Sanae Kikuta def. Chris Rice - Submission (Armbar)
Nick Thompson def. Michael Costa - Submission (Kimura)
Kazuo Misaki def. Logan Clark - Unanimous Decision
Travis Wiuff def. Kazuyuki Fujita - KO (Punches)
Hidehiko Yoshida def. Maurice Smith - Submission (Neck Crank)

Sapp, Riggs Suffer Brutal Losses in the Dome

Bob Sapp’s return to his home state of Washington didn’t go so well. The former NFL lineman and K-1 star was stopped by fellow kickboxer Jan Nortje in brutal fashion, stunning the 7,089 in attendance at the Tacoma Dome for last night’s Strikeforce and Bodog Fight co-promoted event.

After cutting Sapp with a series of stiff left jabs in the opening moments of the fight, Nortje followed up with a barrage of punches while his opponent was up against the cage. Seconds later, Sapp was on the receiving end of one final left hook that sent him crumpling to the canvas and forced the referee to wave off the proceedings.

The win was Nortje’s first in mixed martial arts since Tadao Yasuda was forced to bow out of their December 2002 bout because of injury. After the fight, Nortje (2-5) expressed his desire to compete under the Strikeforce banner in the future.

“It wasn’t luck,” Nortje said. “I trained my ass off for this fight. I knew Sapp was one hell of a job to take on, but I did it. Thanks to Scott Coker and Strikeforce, I’m going to keep doing this. This feels nice. This feels good.“

A disappointed Sapp (9-3-1) revealed a potential hamstring injury that may have hampered his performance during a post-fight interview.

“My hamstring buckled and I wasn’t able to get back up,” Sapp said. “I tried to move around a lot but it wasn’t working. Unfortunately I just couldn’t get it done today.”

After a brief exchange on the feet, Cory Devela put veteran Joe Riggs on his back for good just two minutes into their middleweight bout with a swift judo throw. Immediately tapping out after he hit the mat, it was obvious that Riggs was in extreme pain from what appeared to be an unconfirmed lower back injury.

Although Devela landed two right hands flush to a downed and submitting Riggs, it was evident that the injury was the main cause behind the former UFC welterweight title contender being unable to stand up. A stretcher was called into the cage and Riggs was taken to nearby St. Joseph Medical Center where he remained overnight before being released earlier this morning.

Devela, now 8-1, noted that he hoped Riggs (27-10) would fully recover from the injury after the fight.

After a few minutes, I knew that I probably shouldn’t be standing with him,” Devela said. “He’s a hard-hitting guy and I had a better chance of tying up with him and beating him up that way. I hate to see when a fighter gets hurt like that so I hope he’s alright and comes back hard.”

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