By FCF Staff; photo courtesy Bellator FC
Richard Hale and Christian M’Pumbu entrenched a future bout between the two, at last night’s Bellator 42 card in Concho, Oklahoma, by winning their respective light-heavyweight tourney semifinals.
M’Pumbu put an end to Tim Carpenter’s night early, by catching the aggressive BJJ blackbelt with a hard overhand right and follow up uppercut, which sent him crashing to the mat. After the referee promptly intervened to bring an end to the bout, Carpenter protested what he appeared to believe was an early stoppage, while an emotional M’Pumbu celebrated the dramatic win. (Pictured: M'Pumbu celebrating the win)
In the other semi, Hale and D.J. Linderman battled it out for three hard fought rounds. The much taller Hale utilized leg kicks and jabs in an attempt to keep his opponent at bay, while Linderman constantly moved forward to close the distance. After Hale dominated round three, by taking Linderman’s back and maintaining the position for most of the frame, two of the three judges awarded “Rare Breed” the decision win.
“Bellator 42 was a great night of fights with spectacular performances by M’Pumbu and Hale to advance to our first-ever Bellator Light Heavyweight Finals,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The season continues to produce amazing MMA for fans and the MTV2 audience.”
Sengoku vet Ronnie Mann was impressive in his Bellator debut, as the featherweight pounded out a dominant UD win over Josh Arocho. Mann was able to either negate Arocho’s takedown attempts or sweep the experienced wrestler throughout the fight, to in turn punish his opponent with ground-and-pound strikes for the majority of the bout.
Light-Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals
Richard Hale def. D.J. Linderman by Split Decision [29-28, 29-28, 29-28]
Christian M’Pumbu def. Tim Carpenter by TKO (2:08 Round 1)
Main Card
Ronnie Mann def. Josh Arocho def. by Unanimous Decision [30-25, 30-27, 30-27]
Luiz "Betao" Nogueira def. Jerod Spoon def. by Unanimous Decision [30-27, 29-28, 29-28]
Jared Hess def. Chris Bell via Submission (triangle choke) - Round 1, 1:40
