Bellator 62 Rocks Laredo

On Friday March 24, 2011, the Bellator 62 Lightweight Quarterfinals took place at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas. The atmosphere was intense as fighters prepared for the match, keeping in mind the ultimate prize they are competing for is $100,000. The event was broadcasted live on the MTV2 channel and Spike.com. In addition to the main four lightweight fights, there were other local feature featherweight fights presented. The featherweight division in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) usually consists of fighters who weigh 136-145 lbs. and the lightweight division is made up of those who weigh 146-155 lbs. Each fight or bout, as commonly referred to in the MMA community, consisted of three five minute rounds unless a fighter forfeited, or the referee stopped the fight.

The event began with, Sean "Black Magic" Spencer vs. Joseph Daily. The match ended with Spencer defeating Daily in round two at 0:1:24 by submission. The next fight was Rad Martinez vs. Douglas Frey, with Martinez defeating Frey in round one at 0:4:08 by submission. The fight between Jacob "The Hunter" Kirwan vs. David "The Fugitive" Jensen lasted all three rounds. At the end of the fight, it was unanimously decided that Jensen was the winner and the judges scores were; 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of Jensen.

The next fight was between Brazilians Rene Nazare and Thiago Michel. Although through a split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), judges ruled in favor of Michel and he became a semi-finalist. Then, it was J.J. Ambrose and Brent Weedman's turn to step into the ring. Weedman won by submission in the second round at 0:3:26 and is now heading to the semi-finals also. Afterwards, he thanked his wife and unborn son for their support as he received overwhelming applause from the audience. Moreover, the following fight had Rick Hawn vs. Brazilian Ricardo Tirloni. The short fight was stopped by the referee after only 2 minutes and 36 seconds, when Hawn knocked out Tirloni and automatically moved into the semi-finals.

Furthermore, Lloyd "Cupcake" Woodard vs. Brazilian Patricky Pitbull were next. Woodard won by submission in the second round at 0:1:26 after Pitbull was left on the ground with an arm injury. With this victory under his belt, Woodard advanced to the semi-finals. In addition, Chris "Lion Heart" Jones vs. Steven "Ocho" Peterson completed all three rounds, but Jones was declared the winner after a split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) from the judges.

Finally, the night ended with a bout between Laredo's own Sonny Luque vs. Luis Vega. In the end, Vega won by submission on the first round at 0:3:43.

Two anticipated fights that were cancelled were Cosmo Alexandre vs. Oscar de la Parra, which was cut for unknown reasons, and  Thiago Santos vs. Eric Prindle, which was a default win by Prindle after Santos failed to make the cut after going over 12 pounds of the weight requirement. The Bellator Lightweight Quarterfinals were warmly welcomed by the Laredo Audience and the level of excitement was steady up until the very last fight.

For more information on the dates and matches for the upcoming Semi-finals, visit the official Bellator website:http://www.bellator.com

(Joana Santillana may be reached at joana.santillana@dusty.tamiu.edu)