Bellator 113 Results: Emanuel Newton Unifies Light Heavyweight Belts Via Split Decision

Bellator 133 took place on Friday at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kan. featuring a light heavyweight title fight and the quarterfinal round of the Season 10 Lightweight Tournament.

Bellator Interim light heavyweight titleholder Emanuel Newton unified the Bellator light heavyweight belts by defeating 205-pound champion Attila Vegh by split decision.

Both fighters were tentative in the early going of the opening frame.  Newton continuously switched stances and kept Vegh on the outside with kicks.  Vegh landed when he decided to exchange, but he was outworked by Newton’s high output style.

Newton continued to use kicks to keep Vegh on the outside in the second round.  Vegh circled on the outside looking to counter strike.  But it was Newton winning the round on MMAWeekly’s scorecard with pressure and volume.

Vegh found his range and timing in the third round.  Uppercuts began to find their mark. Newton’s output slowed, but he still outworked Vegh in the round.  Vegh’s corner told him following the second and third rounds that he had won the first three frames.

Newton continued to move forward in the fourth stanza.  He peppered Vegh with leg kicks and jabs while Vegh was content with trying to time his shots as Newton closed the distance.  Heading into the final round, Vegh was seemingly behind on the scorecards despite what his corner was telling him.

Newton came out aggressive in the fifth round.  He pressured Vegh with kicks and jabs.  He started landing heavier shots.   He delivered knees to the body while in the clinch position.  He tried to work in takedowns, but Vegh defended the attempts.  The story of the fight was Newton doing more than Vegh.  When it was all said and done, the judges scored the fight for Newton by split decision.

“It was a tough fight.  Vegh was countering me real good.  I think I pushed the pace.  I put his back against the cage.   This is MMA.  It’s not called the waiting game.   He was just waiting more,” said the undisputed light heavyweight champion following the fight.

Newton will face the winner of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “King Mo” Lawal who fight on May 17 in the Season 10 Light Heavyweight Tournament finals.

“To Rampage and Mo, I hope to see a good fight between them.  And I’m definitely going to have to get better before I go in there and face either of those men again,” said Newton.

Patricky “Pitbull” Freire ended Bellator Season 8 Lightweight Tournament winner David Rickels’ hopes at another tournament title by knocking him out early in the second round.

Rickels pressed the action early.  He dictated the pace of the opening round by moving forward and mixing up his attack.  Freire effectively countered but was out worked.  Rickels was able to land punches and knees inside the clinch position.  Freire secured a takedown late in the frame, but it wasn’t enough to take round.

Rickels continued to pressure Freire in the second round, and it ended up his undoing.  As he moved forward into the pocket, Freire landed a left hook that hurt Rickels.  Rickels retreated and fired back.  Freire delivered another left hook that dropped Rickels, bouncing his head off the canvas.  Freire followed up with another left hand before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

“What motivates me the most is all this cheering against me,” said Freire to the Rickels-friendly Kansas crowd following the knockout win.

Marcin Held submitted his way into the lightweight tournament semifinals, finishing Rodrigo Cavalheiro in the opening round.

Held pressured Cavalheiro in the early going of the opening frame by moving forward with punches.  During an exchange, Held changed levels and took Cavalheiro down.  Before long, the leg submission specialist dropped down and isolated a leg.  He applied a toe hold, and Cavalheiro was forced to tap out.

“It’s not always this easy.  Sometimes I have to put a lot of power to it.  This time also it wasn’t very fast.  He tried to block, but finally I got it.  I think I’m confident because I do it a lot and I know it’s going to work,” said Marcin about the submission.

Derek Campos made his way to the lightweight tournament semifinals by defeating Tim Welsh by unanimous decision in the first fight on the main card.

Campos used his speed and footwork to beat Welsh to the punch in the opening round.  He took the center of the cage and moved forward behind his jab.  He was the aggressor through the first five minutes clearly winning the round.

Campos had Welsh hurt on a couple of occasions in the second frame.  He stepped into the pocket with a lead uppercut followed by a right hook that had Welsh on wobbly legs.  But instead of keeping the fight on the feet, Campos opted to take Welsh down.  He mounted Welsh and worked for a side choke but was unable to finish.  Welsh survived the round, but he was behind on the scorecards.

Campos secured a trip takedown in the early going of the final round.  Welsh battled back to his feet only to slip while attempting a head kick seconds later.  Campos kept Welsh on his back while landing punches until the closing seconds of the stanza.  All three judges scored Campos winning every round.

Derek Anderson became the first lightweight to advance to the semifinals of the 155-pound tournament with a second round knockout of Brandon Girtz.

Girtz did well early securing two takedowns in the opening round.  He worked for an armbar and had Anderson in an uncomfortable position, but Anderson was able to defend the submission attempt.  He gained top position and pounded away while defending more submission attempts by Anderson.

Girtz attempted to get the fight to the ground early in the second frame.  As he changed levels Anderson met him with a right knee counter that ended the fight immediately.  Girtz was knocked out on impact and Anderson secured his spot in the final four of the tournament.

Bellator 113 Official Results:

Emanuel Newton def. Attila Vegh by unanimous decision (
Patricky “Pitbull” Freire def. David Rickels by KO at 0:54, R2
Marcin Held def. Rodrigo Cavalheiro by submission (toe hold) at 1:56, R1
Derek Campos def. Tim Welsh by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Derek Anderson def. Brandon Girtz by KO at 0:23, R2
Israel Giron def. Cody Carrillo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Eric Wisely def. Donnie Bell by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Daniel Gallemore def. Fredrick Brown by TKO at 3:34, R1
Bobby Cooper def. Marcio Navarro by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)