2012 in Bellator MMA
Information
Promotion	Bellator MMA
First date aired	March 9, 2012 (2012-03-09)
Last date aired	December 14, 2012 (2012-12-14)
← 2011 2013 →

2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships,^[1] which began on March 9, 2012.^[2] The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so it began with the show on March 9, 2012.^[3]

Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes, including the bantamweight,^[4] featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions.

Bellator 60

Bellator 60 took place on March 9, 2012 at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.^[5] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 60 was expected to take place on March 2, but the season opener was pushed back one week.^[6]

Wagnney Fabiano was originally scheduled to face Ronnie Mann in the opening round of the Featherweight tournament; however, on March 1, 2012, Fabiano pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Mike Corey.^[7]

Genair da Silva was originally scheduled to face Alexandre Bezerra in the opening round of the Featherweight tournament; however, after weigh-in issues, da Silva was forced to pull out of the bout. He was replaced by Kenny Foster who was set to fight Bobby Reardanz on the undercard of this event.^[8]

Results^[5][9]

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Catchweight (148 pounds (67 kg))	Genair da Silva	def.	Bobby Reardanz	3	0:51	TKO (leg kicks and punches)
Preliminary	Catchweight (165 pounds (75 kg))	Josh Shockley	def.	Shamar Bailey	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)
Preliminary	Catchweight (280 pounds (130 kg))	Sean McCorkle	def.	Richard White	1	1:02	Submission (neck crank)
Preliminary	Catchweight (215 pounds (98 kg))	Travis Wiuff	def.	Anthony Gomez	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
Preliminary	Bantamweight	Jake Nauracy	def.	Cory Galloway	2	4:22	Submission (rear-naked choke)
Main	Featherweight	Mike Corey	def.	Ronnie Mann	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	Featherweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Featherweight	Daniel Mason-Straus	def.	Jeremy Spoon	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)	Featherweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Featherweight	Alexandre Bezerra	def.	Kenny Foster	2	4:57	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Featherweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Featherweight	Marlon Sandro	def.	Roberto Vargas	1	3:35	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Featherweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Featherweight	Pat Curran	def.	Joe Warren (c)	3	1:25	KO (punches)	For Bellator Featherweight Championship

Bellator 61

Bellator 61 took place on March 16, 2012 at Horseshoe Riverdome in Bossier City, Louisiana.^[10] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

The event was to feature the rematch between season-five heavyweight tournament finalists Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos. Prindle and Santos met in the finals of Bellator's season-five heavyweight tourney, but the bout was ruled a no-contest when Santos inexplicably kicked a downed Prindle in the groin.^[11] However, on March 15, Bellator announced the fight had been pushed back a week to Bellator 62 due to Prindle having "flu-like symptoms."^[12]

This event marked the first time that Bellator Fighting Championships aired in Brazil on TV Esporte Interativo.

Results^[10][13]

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Middleweight	Trey Houston	def.	Jeremiah Riggs	1	3:30	Submission (armbar)	This bout aired on the MTV2 broadcast following the Santana vs. Santos fight.
Preliminary	Catchweight (140 pounds (64 kg))	Jason Sampson	def.	Jeremy Myers	3	2:25	Submission (rear-naked choke)
Preliminary	Welterweight	Derrick Krantz	def.	Eric Scallan	1	3:01	Technical submission (D'arce choke)
Preliminary	Catchweight (165 pounds (75 kg))	Josh Quayhagen	def.	Brent Taylor	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
Main	Middleweight	Brian Rogers	def.	Vitor Vianna	1	4:14	KO (flying knee)	Middleweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Middleweight	Bruno Santos	def.	Giva Santana	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)	Middleweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Middleweight	Vyacheslav Vasilevsky	def.	Victor O'Donnell	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	Middleweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Middleweight	Maiquel Falcao	def.	Norman Paraisy	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	Middleweight tournament quarterfinal bout

Bellator 62

Bellator 62 took place on March 23, 2012 at Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas.^[14] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

The event hosted the opening round of Bellator's Season Six Lightweight Tournament.^[14]

Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos were supposed to have their rematch of the Season Five Heavyweight Tournament Final on this card, after having been delayed a week from Bellator 61. Santos, however, failed to make weight and the bout was cancelled, and Prindle was awarded the tournament win by default. A scheduled fight between Cosmo Alexandre and Oscar de la Parra was also scrapped.^[15]

Results^[14][16]

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Catchweight (173 lb)	Sean Spencer	def.	Joseph Daily	2	1:24	Submission (rear-naked choke)
Preliminary	Featherweight	Rad Martinez	def.	Doug Frey	1	4:08	TKO (punches)	This bout aired on the MTV2 broadcast following the Hawn vs. Tirloni fight.
Preliminary	Lightweight	Dave Jansen	def.	Jacob Kirwan	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)
Preliminary	Featherweight	Chris Jones	def.	Steven Peterson	3	5:00	Decision (split) (27–30, 29–28, 29–28)
Preliminary	Catchweight (162 lb)	Luis Vega	def.	Sonny Luque	1	3:43	Submission (arm-triangle choke)
Main	Lightweight	Thiago Michel	def.	Rene Nazare	3	5:00	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	Lightweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Lightweight	Brent Weedman	def.	J.J. Ambrose	2	3:26	Submission (Von Flue choke)	Lightweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Lightweight	Rick Hawn	def.	Ricardo Tirloni	1	2:36	KO (punches)	Lightweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Lightweight	Lloyd Woodard	def.	Patricky Freire	2	1:46	Submission (kimura)	Lightweight tournament quarterfinal bout

Bellator 63

Bellator 63 took place on March 30, 2012 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.^[17] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

The event hosted the opening round of Bellator's Season Six Welterweight Tournament.^[17]

War Machine was expected to fight Karl Amoussou in the opening round of the welterweight tournament. However, War Machine was sentenced to a year in prison and was forced out of the bout and the tournament.^[18]

Brian Foster was scheduled to face David Rickels in the opening round of the welterweight tournament, but was not medically cleared for the event. Stepping in to fight Rickels was newcomer Jordan Smith.^[19]

Results^[17][20]

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Women's (125 pounds (57 kg))	Munah Holland	def.	Marianna Kheyfets	2	4:45	KO (punches)
Preliminary	Welterweight	Andrey Koreshkov	def.	Tiawan Howard	1	1:26	KO (punch)	This bout aired on the MTV2 broadcast following the Smith vs. Rickels fight.
Preliminary	Featherweight	Brandon Fleming	def.	Pete Rogers Jr.	1	3:39	Submission (Peruvian necktie)
Preliminary	Middleweight	Dan Cramer	def.	Jeff Nader	3	5:00	Decision (split) (27–30, 29–28, 29–28)
Preliminary	Featherweight	Matt Bessette	def.	Saul Almeida	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)
Preliminary	Catchweight (165 pounds (75 kg))	Ryan Quinn	def.	Marc Stevens	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)
Main	Welterweight	Ben Saunders	def.	Raul Amaya	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–27)	Welterweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Welterweight	David Rickels	def.	Jordan Smith	1	0:22	KO (punches)	Welterweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Welterweight	Bryan Baker	def.	Carlos Alexandre Pereira	3	5:00	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	Welterweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Welterweight	Karl Amoussou	def.	Chris Lozano	1	2:05	Submission (rear naked choke)	Welterweight tournament quarterfinal bout

Bellator 64

Bellator 64 took place on April 6, 2012 at Caesar's Windsor in Windsor, Ontario.^[21] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

The event hosted two of the opening round bouts of Bellator's Season Six Bantamweight Tournament.

Results^[22]

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Lightweight	Jason Fischer	def.	Taylor Solomon	3	4:59	Technical Submission (rear naked choke)
Preliminary	Welterweight	Nordine Taleb	def.	Matt Secor	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–24)
Preliminary	Featherweight	Mike Richman	def.	Chris Horodecki	1	1:23	KO (punches)
Preliminary	Welterweight	Chad Laprise	def.	Josh Taveirne	1	2:48	Submission (triangle choke)
Preliminary	Catchweight (160 pounds (73 kg))	Kyle Prepolec	def.	Lance Snow	1	2:54	Submission (armbar)
Preliminary	Catchweight (192 lb)	Elias Theodorou	def.	Rich Lictawa	3	0:33	TKO (retirement)
Main	Bantamweight	Hiroshi Nakamura	def.	Rodrigo Lima	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27)	Bantamweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Bantamweight	Travis Marx	def.	Masakatsu Ueda	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	Bantamweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Featherweight	Marlon Sandro	def.	Alexandre Bezerra	3	5:00	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	Featherweight tournament semifinal bout
Main	Welterweight	Ben Askren (c)	def.	Douglas Lima	5	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45)	For Bellator Welterweight Championship

Bellator 65

Bellator 65 took place on April 13, 2012 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.^[23] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Heavyweight champion Cole Konrad was originally slated to defend his title against Eric Prindle at this event. The fight, however, was moved to Bellator 70.^[24]

Results^[23][25]

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Lightweight	E. J. Brooks	def.	Mikhail Malyutin	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26)
Preliminary	Welterweight	Kris McCray	def.	Ailton Barbosa	3	5:00	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	Season 7 Welterweight Tournament Qualifier
Preliminary	Welterweight	Lyman Good	def.	LeVon Maynard	1	0:13	KO (punch)	Season 7 Welterweight Tournament Qualifier
Preliminary	Featherweight	Scott Heckman	def.	Lester Caslow	1	3:40	Submission (rear naked choke)
Preliminary	Middleweight	Duane Bastress	def.	Plinio Cruz	2	2:52	TKO (elbows)
Preliminary	Lightweight	Will Martinez	def.	Terrell Hobbs	1	4:12	Submission (rear naked choke)
Preliminary	Featherweight	Kenny Foster	def.	Jay Haas	1	2:51	Submission (guillotine choke)
Main	Bantamweight	Marcos Galvao	def.	Ed West	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	Bantamweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Bantamweight	Luis Nogueira	def.	Alexis Vila	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	Bantamweight tournament quarterfinal bout
Main	Featherweight	Daniel Mason-Straus	def.	Mike Corey	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)	Featherweight tournament semifinal bout
Main	Bantamweight	Eduardo Dantas	def.	Zach Makovsky (c)	2	3:26	Technical Submission (arm triangle choke)	For Bellator Bantamweight Championship

Bellator 66

Bellator 66 took place on April 20, 2012 at I-X Center in Cleveland, Ohio.^[26] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

NAAFS women's champion Aisling Daly was originally scheduled to face Jessica Eye on this card. Daly withdrew from the bout due to an ear infection and was replaced by Anita Rodriguez.^[27]

Bruno Santos was originally scheduled to face Brian Rogers in a Middleweight tournament semifinal bout; however, on April 16, 2012, it was revealed that Santos had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by Bellator newcomer Andreas Spang.^[28]

Tyler Combs and Jason Dent were originally announced to face each other in a lightweight bout. Nevertheless, the fight did not materialize.

Results^[29][30]

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Lightweight	Julian Lane	def.	Joe Heiland	1	2:49	Submission (guillotine choke)
Preliminary	Featherweight	Frank Caraballo (ic)	def.	Donny Walker (c)	4	2:25	KO (knee)	For unified NAAFS Featherweight championship
Preliminary	Light Heavyweight	Attila Vegh	def.	Dan Spohn	3	5:00	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 30–27)
Preliminary	Light Heavyweight	John Hawk	def.	Marcus Vanttinen	3	5:00	Decision (split) (27–30, 29–28, 29–28)
Preliminary	Women's Bout (130 lb)	Jessica Eye	def.	Anita Rodriguez	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
Main	Lightweight	Brent Weedman	def.	Thiago Michel	3	5:00	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)	Lightweight tournament semifinal bout
Main	Lightweight	Rick Hawn	def.	Lloyd Woodard	2	0:10	KO (punch)	Lightweight tournament semifinal bout
Main	Middleweight	Maiquel Falcao	def.	Vyacheslav Vasilevsky	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	Middleweight tournament semifinal bout
Main	Middleweight	Andreas Spang	def.	Brian Rogers	2	3:34	KO (punch)	Middleweight tournament semifinal bout
Main	Lightweight	Eddie Alvarez	def.	Shinya Aoki	1	2:14	TKO (punches)

Bellator 67

Bellator 67 took place on May 4, 2012 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada.^[31] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator Lightweight champion, Michael Chandler, competed in a non-title "Super Fight" against PRIDE, UFC, and DREAM veteran, Akihiro Gono, at this event.^[32]

Results

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Welterweight	Dom O'Grady	def.	Nathan Gunn	2	4:51	Submission (armbar)	[33]
Preliminary	Catchweight (180 lb)	Nordine Taleb	def.	Matt MacGrath	2	2:30	TKO (punches)	[33]
Preliminary	Catchweight (148 lb)	Will Romero	def.	Matt Veal	2	4:25	TKO (knees & punches)	[33]
Preliminary	Bantamweight	David Harris	def.	Nick Kirk	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)	[33]
Preliminary	Lightweight	Cosmo Alexandre	def.	Lorawnt-T Nelson	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)	[33]
Main	Welterweight	Ryan Ford	def.	Luis Santos	2	1:24	TKO (knee & punches)	[33]
Main	Heavyweight	Damian Grabowski	def.	Dave Huckaba	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	[33]
Main	Welterweight	Bryan Baker	def.	Ben Saunders	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)	Welterweight tournament semifinal[33]
Main	Lightweight	Michael Chandler	def.	Akihiro Gono	1	0:56	TKO (punches)	[33]

Bellator 68

Bellator 68 took place on May 11, 2012 at Caesars Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.^[34][35] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Kurt Pellegrino was scheduled to fight Marcin Held at this event.^[36] However, on March 13, Pellegrino suffered a knee injury and was forced to pull out of the bout.^[37] Phillipe Nover had stepped in as Pellegrino's replacement, but was eventually replaced by Bellator newcomer Derrick Kennington.

Eddie Fyvie and Jeff Lentz were originally scheduled to compete in a featherweight bout;^[34] however, the fight did not materialize.

Marius Žaromskis versus Waachiim Spiritwolf was originally going to be contested at welterweight; however, Spiritwolf failed to make the 171 pounds cut off allowance and the fight was changed to a catchweight bout at 172 pounds.^[38]

A catchweight bout at 230 pounds between Carmelo Marrero and Seth Petruzelli was cancelled the day of the show due to an illness by Petruzelli.^[39]

Results

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Middleweight	Francois Ambang	def.	Gregory Milliard	3	5:00	Decision (split)	[34]
Preliminary	Bantamweight	Anthony Leone	def.	Claudio Ledesma	3	5:00	Decision (split)	[34]
Preliminary	Catchweight (175 lb)	Aung La N Sang	def.	Jesus Martinez	1	0:36	TKO (punches)	[34]
Preliminary	Lightweight	Don Carlo-Clauss	def.	Jacob Kirwan	3	5:00	Decision (split)	[34]
Main	Catchweight (172 lb)	Marius Žaromskis	def.	Waachiim Spiritwolf	2	5:00	TKO (doctor stoppage)	Stopped between rounds 2 & 3[34]
Main	Lightweight	Marcin Held	def.	Derrick Kennington	1	2:08	Submission (heel hook)	[34]
Main	Bantamweight	Marcos Galvão	def.	Travis Marx	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal[34]
Main	Featherweight	Daniel Mason-Straus	def.	Marlon Sandro	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)	Featherweight Tournament Final[34]

Bellator 69

Bellator 69 took place on May 18, 2012 at the L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana.^[40][41] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

This event held the finals of the Season Six Middleweight tournament.^[42]

Heavyweights Ron Sparks and Kevin Asplund were to compete in a tournament eliminator bout for a spot in the Bellator Season Seven Heavyweight tournament.^[42] However, the bout was cancelled the day of the show due to Sparks feeling ill.

With Hector Lombard leaving for the Ultimate Fighting Championship,^[43] the Middleweight title was vacated. On April 25, 2012, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney announced that the winner of the Middleweight tournament finale between Maiquel Falcão and Andreas Spang will face Alexander Shlemenko to crown the company's new Middleweight champion.^[44]

Results

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Lightweight	E. J. Brooks	def.	Kalvin Hackney	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)	[40]
Preliminary	Light Heavyweight	Rich Hale	def.	Josh Burns	1	0:38	TKO (punches)	[40]
Preliminary	Welterweight	Andrey Koreshkov	def.	Derrick Krantz	3	0:51	TKO (strikes)	[40]
Preliminary	Featherweight	Shanon Slack	def.	Booker Arthur	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)	[40]
Preliminary	Catchweight (158 lb)	Josh Quayhagen	def.	Cliff Wright	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)	[40]
Main	Heavyweight	Mark Holata	def.	Abe Wagner	1	2:24	Verbal Submission (straight ankle lock)	[40]
Main	Women's 115 lb	Jessica Aguilar	def.	Megumi Fujii	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	[40]
Main	Welterweight	Karl Amoussou	def.	David Rickels	3	5:00	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)	Welterweight tournament semifinal[40]
Main	Middleweight	Maiquel Falcão	def.	Andreas Spang	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27)	Middleweight tournament final[40][44]

Bellator 70

Bellator 70 took place on May 25, 2012 at the Orleans Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.^[24] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Heavyweight champion Cole Konrad was originally slated to defend his title against Eric Prindle at Bellator 65. Prindle, however, was injured and the fight was moved to this card, Bellator 70.^[45]

Fight card

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Preliminary	Bantamweight	Derek Arcement	def.	Blake Dufour	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)	[24]
Preliminary	Middleweight	Jonas Billstein	def.	Mike Seal	1	2:55	Technical submission (rear naked choke)	[24]
Preliminary	Catchweight (190 lb)	Kelvin Tiller	def.	Jeremiah Riggs	3	3:38	Verbal submission (kimura)	[24]
Preliminary	Welterweight	A.J. Matthews	def.	Charlie Rader	2	3:34	KO (soccer kick)	[24]
Preliminary	Catchweight (173 lb)	Keith Schneider	def.	Josh Shockley	1	N/A	Submission (armbar)	[24]
Main	Catchweight (157 lb)	Rich Clementi	def.	Derek Campos	1	4:18	Submission (guillotine choke)	[24]
Main	Bantamweight	Luis Nogueira	def.	Hiroshi Nakamura	3	1:58	KO (punches)	Bantamweight Tournament Semi Final[24]
Main	Heavyweight	Cole Konrad (c)	def.	Eric Prindle	1	1:00	Submission (kimura)	For the Bellator Heavyweight Championship[24]
Main	Lightweight	Rick Hawn	def.	Brent Weedman	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous 29–28 30–27 30–27)	Lightweight Tournament Final[24]

Tournaments

Middleweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Maiquel Falcão

UD

Norman Paraisy

3

Maiquel Falcão

UD

Vyacheslav Vasilevsky

3

Vyacheslav Vasilevsky

UD

Victor O'Donnell

3

Maiquel Falcão

UD

Andreas Spang

3

Bruno Santos

UD

Giva Santana

3

Andreas Spang[1]

KO

Brian Rogers

2

Brian Rogers

KO

Vitor Vianna

1

^ 1: Bruno Santos was set to face Brian Rogers in the semifinal round of the middleweight tournament. However, Santos had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by Andreas Spang.

Welterweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Karl Amoussou

SUB

Chris Lozano[1]

1

Karl Amoussou

SD

David Rickels

3

David Rickels

KO

Jordan Smith[2]

1

Karl Amoussou

SUB

Bryan Baker

1

Bryan Baker

SD

Carlos Alexandre Pereira

3

Bryan Baker

UD

Ben Saunders

3

Ben Saunders

UD

Raul Amaya

3

^ 1: War Machine was set to appear in the welterweight tournament. However, War Machine was sentenced to a year in prison and was forced out of the tournament. He was replaced by Chris Lozano.
^ 2: Brian Foster was set to appear in the welterweight tournament. However, Foster was not medically cleared to fight. He was replaced by Jordan Smith.

Lightweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Rick Hawn

KO

Ricardo Tirloni

1

Rick Hawn

KO

Lloyd Woodard

2

Lloyd Woodard

SUB

Patricky Freire

2

Rick Hawn

UD

Brent Weedman

3

Brent Weedman

SUB

J.J. Ambrose

2

Brent Weedman

SD

Thiago Michel

3

Thiago Michel

SD

Rene Nazare

3

Featherweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Daniel Straus

UD

Jeremy Spoon

3

Daniel Straus

UD

Mike Corey

3

Mike Corey[1]

UD

Ronnie Mann

3

Daniel Straus

UD

Marlon Sandro

3

Marlon Sandro

SUB

Roberto Vargas

1

Marlon Sandro

SD

Alexandre Bezerra

3

Alexandre Bezerra

SUB

Kenny Foster[2]

2

^ 1: Wagnney Fabiano was expected to appear in the featherweight tournament. However, Fabiano suffered an undisclosed injury and was forced out of the tournament. Mike Corey filled in as Fabiano's replacement.
^ 2: Genair da Silva was expected to appear in the featherweight tournament. However, after weigh-in issues arose at Bellator 60, da Silva was forced out of the tournament. Kenny Foster, who was slated to fight on the event's undercard, replaced da Silva.

Bantamweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Marcos Galvao

UD

Ed West

3

Marcos Galvao

UD

Travis Marx

3

Travis Marx

UD

Masakatsu Ueda

3

Marcos Galvao

TKO

Luis Nogueira

2

Luis Nogueira

UD

Alexis Vila

3

Luis Nogueira

TKO

Hiroshi Nakamura

3

Hiroshi Nakamura

UD

Rodrigo Lima

3

Bellator 71

Bellator 71
Information
Promotion	Bellator Fighting Championships
Date	June 22, 2012
Venue	Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort
City	Chester, West Virginia
Event chronology
Bellator 70 Bellator 71 Bellator 72

Bellator 71 was a mixed martial arts event held by Bellator Fighting Championships. The event took place on June 22, 2012 at the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in Chester, West Virginia.^[46] The card was part of Bellator's annual Summer Series and featured the opening round fights in the Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament.^{[citation needed]} The event was distributed live in prime time by EPIX and online at SpikeTV.com.

Background

A preliminary bout between E. J. Brooks and Joey Holt was originally announced by the promotion. However, the bout failed to materialize.^[46]

Richard Hale was supposed to face Beau Tribolet in the Tournament Quarterfinal, but was not cleared to compete so Tim Carpenter (who originally was supposed to face John Hawk) stepped in as a last minute replacement.

Results

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Main	Light Heavyweight	Travis Wiuff	def.	Chris Davis	1	4:12	TKO (Strikes)	Light Heavyweight tournament quarterfinal[46]
Main	Light Heavyweight	Attila Vegh	def.	Zelg Galesic	1	1:00	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	Light Heavyweight tournament quarterfinal[46]
Main	Light Heavyweight	Tim Carpenter	def.	Beau Tribolet	2	4:51	Submission (Armbar)	Light Heavyweight tournament quarterfinal[46]
Main	Light Heavyweight	Emanuel Newton	def.	Roy Boughton	2	0:49	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	Light Heavyweight tournament quarterfinal[46]
Main	Heavyweight	Brett Rogers	def.	Kevin Asplund	2	5:00	TKO (Doctor's Stoppage)	[46]
Preliminary	Light Heavyweight	Josh Stansbury	def.	Dan Spohn	1	2:30	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	[46]
Preliminary	Middleweight	Jason Butcher	def.	Duane Bastress	1	1:03	Submission (Triangle Choke)	[46]
Preliminary	Featherweight	Neil Johnson	def.	Brylan Van Artsdalen	2	4:29	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	[46]
Preliminary	Catchweight (190 lb)	Kevin Zalac	def.	Chris Goldbaugh	3	5:00	Decision (Unanimous)	[46]

Bellator 72

Bellator 72 was a mixed martial arts event held by Bellator Fighting Championships. The event took place on July 20, 2012 at USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.^[47] The card was part of Bellator's annual Summer Series and featured the semifinal round fights in the Summer Series Tournament.^{[citation needed]} The event was distributed live in prime time by EPIX and MTV2.

Background

Paul Daley made his promotional debut at this event against Rudy Bears in a welterweight fight.

Marius Žaromskis and Waachiim Spiritwolf competed in a rematch - their third fight together - following a controversial doctor stoppage in their previous Bellator fight in May 2012.

A heavyweight bout between Chris Barnett and Tom Sauer was initially announced by the promotion for this card.^[48] However, the bout failed to materialize.

Results

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Main	Welterweight	Karl Amoussou	def.	Bryan Baker	1	0:56	Submission (inverted heel hook)	Welterweight tournament final[47]
Main	Welterweight	Paul Daley	def.	Rudy Bears	1	2:45	TKO (Punches)
Main	Light Heavyweight	Travis Wiuff	def.	Tim Carpenter	3	5:00	Decision (Unanimous)	Light Heavyweight tournament semifinal[47]
Main	Light Heavyweight	Attila Vegh	def.	Emanuel Newton	3	5:00	Decision (Split)	Light Heavyweight tournament semifinal[47]
Main	Welterweight	Marius Žaromskis	def.	Waachiim Spiritwolf	3	5:00	Decision (Split)	[47]
Preliminary	Catchweight (150 lb)	Paul Barrow	def.	Jason Carapelluci	3	0:46	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Preliminary	Catchweight (178 lb)	Ben Saunders	def.	Brian Warren	1	0:22	TKO (knees)	Aired on the main broadcast after the Daley/Bears fight
Preliminary	Welterweight	Raul Amaya	def.	Kenny Moss	2	0:30	Verbal Submission (Shoulder Injury)
Preliminary	Featherweight	Matt McCook	def.	Shanon Slack	3	5:00	Decision (split)
Preliminary	Welterweight	Julien Williams	def.	Ryan DeRocher	2	1:32	Technical Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)

Bellator 73

Bellator 73 was a mixed martial arts event held by Bellator Fighting Championships. The event took place on August 24, 2012 at Harrah's Tunica Hotel and Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.^[49] The card was part of Bellator's annual Summer Series and featured the final round fights in the Summer Series Tournament.^{[citation needed]} The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

This fight card was to feature Pat Curran making the first defense of his Featherweight title against Bellator season 4 Featherweight tournament winner Patricio Freire. However, on August 14, 2012, it was announced that Curran had suffered an injury and the bout was to be rescheduled for a later date.^[50]

The card featured the finals of the season 6 Bantamweight tournament and 2012 Summer Series Light Heavyweight tournament.

Marcus "Lelo" Aurelio was originally supposed to make his promotional debut on this card, but was removed due to an injury. His original opponent, Amaechi Oselukwue, instead met replacement Kelvin Tiller.^[51] Additionally, a heavyweight bout between Maurice Jackson and Chris Miller was announced, but failed to materialize.

Results

Card	Weight Class				Round	Time	Method	Notes
Main	Light Heavyweight	Attila Vegh	def.	Travis Wiuff	1	0:25	KO (punches)	Light Heavyweight tournament final
Main	Bantamweight	Marcos Galvao	def.	Luis Nogueira	2	4:20	TKO (elbows)	Bantamweight tournament final[49]
Main	Light Heavyweight	Mike Mucitelli	def.	Matt Van Buren	1	3:01	Submission (triangle choke)
Main	Heavyweight	Mike Wessel	def.	Ryan Martinez	3	5:00	Decision (split)
Preliminary	Lightweight	Zach Underwood	def.	Chris Coggins	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)
Preliminary	Featherweight	Brian Hall	def.	Jay Black	1	N/A	TKO (punches)
Preliminary	Welterweight	Andy Uhrich	def.	Joe Williams	3	5:00	Decision (unanimous)
Preliminary	Catchweight (190 lb)	Kelvin Tiller	def.	Amaechi Oselukwue	2	4:21	TKO (punches)
Preliminary	Light Heavyweight	Jacob Noe	def.	Brian Albin	1	5:00	TKO (doctor stoppage)
Preliminary	Lightweight	Cosmo Alexandre	def.	Harry Johnson	2	0:39	TKO (knee to the body)

Light Heavyweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Attila Vegh

SUB

Zelg Galesic

1

Attila Vegh

SD

Emanuel Newton

3

Emanuel Newton

SUB

Roy Boughton

1

Attila Vegh

KO

Travis Wiuff

1

Travis Wiuff

TKO

Chris Davis

1

Travis Wiuff

UD

Tim Carpenter

3

Tim Carpenter[1]

SUB

Beau Tribolet

2

^ 1: Tim Carpenter replaced Richard Hale.

Bellator 74

Bellator 74 took place on September 28, 2012 at Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey.^{[citation needed]} The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2. It was the season debut of season seven.

Background

Bellator 74 hosted the opening round in the Bellator Season Seven Welterweight Tournament.^[52]

Alexandre Bezerra was originally scheduled to face The Ultimate Fighter: Live alumni Jeff Smith. However, Smith failed his pre-fight medical and was replaced by Matt McCook in a 157 lb catchweight fight.^[53] Plinio Cruz and Kelvin Tiller were also originally announced to meet in a middleweight fight, but the bout was cancelled after Cruz sustained an injury in training.^[53]

Results

Bellator 75

Bellator 75 took place on October 5, 2012 at The Venue in the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.^{[citation needed]} The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 75 hosted the opening round in the Bellator Season Seven Heavyweight Tournament.^{[citation needed]}

The event featured the long-planned rematch between season-five heavyweight tournament finalists Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos. Prindle and Santos met in the finals of Bellator's season-five heavyweight tourney, but the bout was ruled a no-contest when Santos inexplicably kicked a downed Prindle in the groin.^[54] The initial rematch was scheduled for Bellator 61. However, on March 15, Bellator announced the fight had been pushed back a week to Bellator 62 due to Prindle having "flu-like symptoms."^[12] The following week Santos failed to make weight and the bout was cancelled, and Prindle was awarded the tournament win by default.^[55] Incredibly, the fourth scheduled meeting of these two fighters again ended in controversy as this time Prindle accidentally kicked Santos in the groin in round one.

Results

Bellator 76

Bellator 76 took place on October 12, 2012 at Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.^[56] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 76 hosted the opening round in the Bellator Season Seven Featherweight Tournament.

Fight card

Bellator 77

Bellator 77 took place on October 19, 2012 at the Reading Eagle Theater in the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania.^[57] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 77 hosted the opening round in the Bellator Season Seven Lightweight Tournament.

Results

Bellator 78

Bellator 78 took place on October 26, 2012 at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.^[58] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 78 hosted the semi-finals of Bellator's Season Seven Welterweight Tournament.

Results

Bellator 79

Bellator 79 took place on November 2, 2012 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario.^[59] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 79 hosted the one half of the semi-finals of Bellator's Season Seven Heavyweight Tournament and Featherweight Tournament.

Paul Daley was originally scheduled for this event, but was taken off the card due to concerns that he would be stopped at Canada border entry due to incomplete paperwork needed to secure a visa.^[60]

Results

Bellator 80

Bellator 80 took place on November 9, 2012 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.^[61] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 80 hosted the second half of the semi-finals of Bellator's Season Seven Heavyweight Tournament and Featherweight Tournament.

The featherweight bout between Sky Moiseichik and Shanon Slack was changed to a 150 lb catchweight bout after both fighters failed to make weight.^[62]

Results

Bellator 81

Bellator 81 took place on November 16, 2012 at the Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island.^[63] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 81 hosted the semi-finals of Bellator's Season Seven Lightweight Tournament.^[63]

Results

Bellator 82

Bellator 82 took place on November 30, 2012 at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.^[64] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 82 hosted the final of Bellator's Season Seven Welterweight Tournament.^[64]

British fighter Michael Page was expected to make his Bellator debut at this event, but withdrew due to undergoing jaw surgery.^[65][66]

Results

Bellator 83

Bellator 83 took place on December 7, 2012 at the Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey^[68] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 83 was expected to host the final of Bellator's Season Seven Featherweight Tournament between finalists Shahbulat Shamhalaev and Rad Martinez.^[69] However, the night of the show it was announced on the air that the bout was cancelled due to Shamhalaev having food poisoning. The fight was initially moved to the following week's show,^[70] but then later postponed to season eight.^[71]

Results

Bellator 84

Bellator 84 took place on December 14, 2012 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.^[72] The event was distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

Bellator 84 hosted the final of Bellator's Season Seven Heavyweight and Lightweight Tournaments.^[69]

Christian M'Pumbu was expected to make his first defense of his light heavyweight title against 2012 Summer Series tournament winner Attila Vegh.^[72] However, on December 3, 2012, it was announced that Vegh had been pulled from the card due to injury and the match postponed for a later date.^[73]

Marcin Held and Dave Jansen were scheduled to compete in the Lightweight Tournament Final on this card. However, the match was cancelled because the Indiana Gaming Commission barred the 20-year-old Held from competing as one must be 21 to enter a casino.^[74]

The fight between Richard Hale and Alexander Volkov was the Heavyweight Tournament Final as well as for the vacated Heavyweight Title.^[75]

Results

Tournaments

Heavyweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Alexander Volkov

UD

Brett Rogers

3

Alexander Volkov

TKO

Vinicius Queiroz

2

Vinicius Queiroz

SUB

Mark Holata

1

Alexander Volkov

UD

Richard Hale

5

Richard Hale

TKO

Mike Wessel

1

Richard Hale

TKO

Thiago Santos

1

Thiago Santos

DQ

Eric Prindle

1

Welterweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Andrey Koreshkov

UD

Jordan Smith

3

Andrey Koreshkov

KO

Marius Žaromskis

1

Marius Žaromskis

UD

Nordine Taleb

3

Andrey Koreshkov

UD

Lyman Good

3

Lyman Good

UD

Jim Wallhead

3

Lyman Good

TKO

Michail Tsarev

2

Michail Tsarev

SUB

Tim Welch

2

Lightweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Dave Jansen

SUB

Magomed Saadulaev

3

Dave Jansen

SD

Ricardo Tirloni

3

Ricardo Tirloni

SUB

Rene Nazare

2

Dave Jansen

UD

Marcin Held

3

Marcin Held

UD

Murad Machaev

3

Marcin Held

2

Rich Clementi

SUB

Rich Clementi

SD

Alexander Sarnavskiy

3

Featherweight tournament bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Shahbulat Shamhalaev

TKO

Cody Bollinger

1

Shahbulat Shamhalaev

KO

Mike Richman

1

Mike Richman

TKO

Jeremy Spoon

1

Shahbulat Shamhalaev

KO

Rad Martinez

2

Rad Martinez

UD

Nazareno Malegarie

3

Rad Martinez

UD

Wagnney Fabiano

3

Wagnney Fabiano

SUB

Akop Stepanyan

1