Alexandre Popó taps out Matt McCook with a rear-naked choke at Bellator 74. (Bellator publicity photo)
At Bellator 88, Maiquel Falcão collided with Alexander Shlemenko for the promotion’s middleweight belt. Falcão, the winner of the sixth season’s GP, started out well against his Russian opponent, who had won the fifth season of the GP. In the second round, however, a combination of strikes to Falcão’s waist spelt the Russian’s victory and earned him the belt, which was left vacant upon Hector Lombar’s departure to the UFC.
Known for his heavy fists, Brazil’s Alexandre “Popó” didn’t need to go to his sweet science skills to put away his countryman “Junior PQD” last night at Bellator. In the featherweight GP quarterfinals, Popó landed a strike that wobbled PQD in the early action. Capitalizing on his opponent’s feeble state, Popó took the back but PQD managed to break free and land in the guard of Popó, who didn’t wait long before darting for the arm and finishing with a snug armbar.
Still in the featherweight grand prix, Marlon Sandro had a lively three rounds with Akop Stepanyan that he ultimately won by majority decision. Fabricio Guerreiro took Magomedrasul Khasbulaev and got the worst of the action, succumbing to an arm-triangle choke from the Russian in the second round.
Bellator 88
Duluth, Georgia
Feb. 7, 2013
Alexander Shlemenko knocked out Maiquel Falcão at 2:18 min of R2
Featherweight GP
Marlon Sandro defeated Akop Stepanyan via unanimous decision
Magomedrasul Khasbulaev tapped out Fabrício Guerreiro via arm-and-neck choke at 1:15 min of R2
Mike Richman defeated Mitch Jackson via TKO at 4:57 min of R1
Alexandre “Popó” Bezerrra tapped out Junior PQD via armbar at 1:47 min of R1
Undercard
Joe Elmore knocked out Jerrid Burke at 4:11 min of R2
Ronnie Rogers defeated Shane Crenshaw via unanimous decision
Clay Harvison defeated Ururahy Rodrigues via TKO at 3:34 min of R3
George Hickman tapped out Stephen Upchurch via rear-naked choke at 2:19 min of R1
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