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COMPLETE PWINSIDERXTRA LIVE COVERAGE OF THE BELLATOR 88 MAIN CARD: A NEW MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION IS CROWNED & FEATHERWEIGHT TOURNAMENT ACTION

By David Tees on 2/7/2013 11:35 PM

Welcome to the PWInsiderXtra.com live coverage of the Bellator 88 Main Card, live from The Arena At Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia.

Fight #6 - Bellator Featherweight Tournament Opening Round Fight

Alexandre Bezerra (14-2-0) vs. Genair Da Silva (13-4-0)

Referee: George Allen

Round One

The round begins with Bezerra attacking Da Silva with leg kicks, Da Silva responds by popping Bezerra with a right. Bezerra then drops Da Silva with a quick punch, Bezerra quickly moves on Da Silva by getting back control on him as he stood up. Da Silva shakes Bezerra off of him and he winds up on top, Da Silva starts to attack Bezerra with some hammer fists. Bezerra then rolls for the arm bar from his back and the tap out follows from Da Silva.

Fight Result: Alexandre Bezerra def. Genair Da Silva by submission via arm bar (1:40, R1)

Fight #7 - Bellator Featherweight Tournament Opening Round Fight

Mike Richman (13-2-0) vs. Mitch Jackson (20-2-0)

Referee: Dan MIragliotta

Round One

The round begins with Jackson catching Richman with a few lefts, Jackson goes for a takedown and the fighters exchange knee strikes. The fighters then start to exchange a few kicks to the body and legs, Richman then drops Jackson momentarily with a right hook. The fighters land knee strikes on each other while in the clinch, Richman drops Jackson briefly with a left. Richman then drops Jackson once more with a three punch combination, Richman decides to stay on top of Jackson this time around. Richman starts to attack Jackson with some ground and pound, the referee stands up the fighters after inactivity. Richman then clobbers Jackson with a multi-punch combination, Richman clobbers Jackson with a head kick and follows it up with a few more strikes until the referee jumps in.

Fight Result: Mike Richman def. Mitch Jackson by TKO via strikes (4:57, R1)

Fight #8 - Bellator Featherweight Tournament Opening Round Fight

Marlon Sandro (23-4-0) vs. Akop Stepanyan (12-4-0)

Referee: George Allen

Round One

The round begins with Sandro quickly nailing Stepanyan with leg kicks, Stepanyan barely misses the head of Sandro with a spinning kick. Sandro grabs a hold of Stepanyan and gets standing back control on him, Stepanyan eventually scrambles away from Sandro. Stepanyan barely catches Sandro with a spinning back kick to the midsection, Stepanyan pops Sandro with a counter strike to the face. Stepanyan then grazes Sandro with a flying knee strike to the skull, Sandro then pops Stepanyan with a right after eating a body kick. Stepanyan responds by catching Sandro with a counter right, Sandro then scores a takedown on Stepanyan as the round ends.

Round Two

The round begins with Stepanyan nailing Sandro with a counter right, Stepanyan then rocks Sandro with a spinning back kick to the head. Stepanyan nails Sandro with a few more strikes and another spinning back kick, Stepanyan then winds up on top of Sandro after a failed takedown attempt. Stepanyan eventually postures up and he attacks Sandro with a few legs kicks until the ref orders the stand up. Sandro recovers to nail Stepanyan with a kick to the midsection, Stepanyan responds by cracking Sandro with a kick to the rib cage. Stepanyan then nails Sandro with a spin kick as he went for the takedown, Stepanyan then pops Sandro with a quick two punch combination. Sandro drags Stepanyan to the ground as the round ends.

In between rounds, the referee took a point away from Akop Stepanyan for grabbing the cage at the end of the round.

Round Three

The round begins with Sandro scoring a quick takedown on Stepanyan and he gets the half guard, Sandro tries to attack Stepanyan with short range strikes. The referee stands up the fighters after inactivity and Sandro quickly puts the fight back on the ground, Stepanyan holds Sandro in the closed guard. Sandro again starts to attack Stepanyan with some short range strikes, Stepanyan gets a good grip on Sandro and it gets broken after a few slams. Sandro briefly postures up before diving back into the guard of Stepanyan, Sandro lands a few more strikes as the round ends.

Fight Result: Marlon Sandro def. Akop Stepanyan by majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)

Main Event - Bellator Middleweight Title Decision Fight

Maiquel Falcao (31-4-0) vs. Alexander Shlemenko (46-7-0)

Referee: Dan Miragliotta

Round One

The round begins with both fighters swinging at each other, Falcao grabs a hold of Shlemenko while landing some knee strikes. Falcao grabs a hold of Shlemenko and he puts him on the ground twice for a short time, Falcao then attacks Shlemenko with more knee strikes. Falcao quickly cracks Shlemenko with a left before backing away, Shlemenko pops Falcao with a pair of lefts. Shlemenko then scores a takedown on Falcao and he gets the closed guard, the referee stands up the fighters after inactivity. Shlemenko then pops Falcao with a spinning back kick to the midsection, Falcao grabs a hold of Shlemenko to nail him with more knee strikes. Falcao and Shlemenko battle for position along the cage wall, Shlemenko barely lands an elbow strike on Falcao as the round ends.

Round Two

The round begins with Falcao attacking Shlemenko with a multiple punch combination, Shlemenko responds by attacking Falcao with a variety of kicks. Shlemenko then pops Falcao with a left to the kidney region, the fighters take the opportunity to swing wildly at each other. Shlemenko responds by grabbing a hold of Falcao and clobbering him with knee strikes, Shlemenko then drops Falcao with a spinning back kick. Shlemenko then pounds on a downed Falcao until he goes out cold.

Fight Result: Alexander Shlemenko def. Maiquel Falcao by KO via punches (2:18, R2) to win the Bellator Middleweight Title