Bellator 18

1. Joe Warren vs. Georgi Karakhanyan - 6
2. Patricio Freire vs. Wilson Reis - 4
3. Hector Lombard vs. Jay Silva - 7
4. Prelim: Charlie Rader vs. Christian Fulgium - 3

Here's a riddle: What's got the amateur wrestling accumen of Matt Hughes, the intensity of Wanderlei Silva, and the conceitedness of Tito Ortiz? Your Answer: Joe Warren. Warren's an Olympic wrestler (keep an eye on him come 2012) who I saw debut in DREAM and against the odds defeated superstar Kid Yamamoto in only his second MMA bout. I don't know how Bellator got him signed for his US debut over Strikeforce and UFC, but he was fighting here to make it into the finals of the Featherweight tournament. It was a great war, Georgi had Warren in some truly dangerous spots that about 95% of fighters would have tapped in but somehow the hardheaded scrapper wouldn't quit. Karakhanyan even hit some powerful knees to split open Joe's head but he gutted it out for the victory.

Reis and Freire are both well-versed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the fight kind of ran into a stalemate. Both guys were fairly evenly matched and I don't like their odds in the tournament finals against Warren. Patricio squeaked out the win in a decision. Lombard is the Middleweight Champion and crushed late replacement and UFC veteran Silva with a Bellator record 6 second KO. Hector looked invincible, refusing to shake hands, and just bombarding Silva in a brutal beatdown. They threw on a preliminary bout, both guys looked green, but it was Rader that picked up the victory in the first round via TKO from punches. Rader was trying to impress, but I couldn't help of thinking of someone I know named Michael that shares the same last name, although the only thing he's ever fought for was another dick for his mouth. Shooter!