Bellator 133 took place Friday night from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, as Alexander Shlemenko picked up an impressive knockout victory in the main event.
Shlemenko, who lost the middleweight title to Brandon Halsey, earned his first KO finish since a 2013 stoppage win vs. Doug Marshall. He is now 52-9, including two straight wins since back-to-back 2014 losses to Halsey and Tito Ortiz.
For Manhoef, the defeat was his second straight knockout loss in 90 days, as he was finished by Joe Schilling in November. The loss dropped him to 29-13-1.
In the co-main event, Daniel Weichel scored a split decision over former champion Pat Curran. The win was the seventh in a row for Weichel (35-8), improving his Bellator record to 4-0.
Curran (20-6) fell to 1-3 in his last four, losing decisions to current champion Patricio Freire and ex-titleholder Daniel Straus. He also won the belt back over Straus before dropping it to “Pitbull.”
Bellator officials previously stated that Georgi Karakhanyan would take on Freire next for the title, but the champion seems to feel Weichel is deserving after his latest victory.
With all due respect to @georgimma,I have been in @danielweichel's place and he reaffirmed his place as the number 1 contender. @BellatorMMA
— Patricio Freire (@PatricioPitbull) February 14, 2015
Freire earned a 2011 third round TKO victory over Karakhanyan in the Season 4 tournament quarterfinal.
Julia Budd and Chris Honeycutt were also winners on the main card, as Budd scored a decision over Gabrielle Holloway and Honeycutt finished Clayton McFarlane late in the third round.
Results can be found below:
Alexander Shlemenko def. Melvin Manhoef via KO (spinning back-fist) at 1:25 of Round 2
Daniel Weichel def. Pat Curran via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Julia Budd def. Gabrielle Holloway via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-24)
Chris Honeycutt def. Clayton MacFarlane via TKO (strikes) at 4:16 of Round 3
Emilio Chavez def. Art Arciniega via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Blake Watkins def. George Zuniga via KO (strike) at :55 of Round 1
Paul Ruiz def. Nicolas Sperling via submission (guillotine choke) at :43 of Round 1
The post Bellator 133: Shlemenko Vs. Manhoef Results appeared first on MMA Convert.
