Bellator 21 MMA Pictures

The Bellator Fighting Championship hosted, Bellator 21, in Hollywood Florida. The night was headlined by the lightweight tournament championship match between Toby Imada and Pat Curran. Imada got to the championship bout last year in season one of the Bellator Fighting Championship before losing to Eddie Alvarez. Toby Imada steam rolled through his first two opponents at Bellator 14 (James Krause, Rd 2 armbar) and Bellator 17 (Carey Vanter, Rd 2 armbar).

Pat Curran arguably had the more difficult path to the championship. In the first round Curran defeated Canada’s Mike Ricci via 1st round KO. Then in the second round, Pat Curran faced off against Bellator 21 favorite, Roger Huerta. After an exciting fight, Curran defeated Herta at Bellator 17 via unanimous decision.

In what turned out to be a very balanced MMA fight, Curran eventually was given the split decision and announced as the Bellator Fighting Championship Season 2 Lightweight Champion. The decision was controversial as round 1 should clearly have been given to Imada. Many argue that Imada proved enough to win one of the other 2 remaining rounds. Maybe Bellator should consider five rounds for championship bouts? It is rumored that Bellator is planning a bout between Pat Curran and Eddie Alvarez for Bellator season 3!

In the other two main card bouts, the female MMA sensation hailing from Japan, Megumi Fujii made her United States television debut by dominating Sarah Schneider. Fujii remained undefeated at 20-0 and scored her first career TKO. Fujii re-affirmed her title of the top pound for pound female MMA fighter in the world. Next on the horizon for Fujii is the Bellator season 3 women’s mma tournament.

The first televised MMA bout was between heavyweights Mike Hayes and Steve Banks. Mike Hayes survived an early first round flurry to control the fight in the second and third round before capturing the unanimous decision. The win pushed Hayes’ record to 12-3-1 as a professional MMA fighter.

Photos courtesy of Tom Hill Photos.

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