By FCF Staff; photo courtesy Bellator FC
Bellator FC crowned a new light-heavyweight champion last night in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as Christian "Tonton" M'Pumbu put away Richard Hale in the third round of the promotion’s 205lb. tourney finals. (Pictured: M' Pumbu dropping Hale with a right hand)
Early on, it appeared as though M’Pumbu was going to need less than five minutes to defeat Hale, as the French striker stunned the American with a knee to the head and a follow up left that sent him crashing to the mat. To his credit, Hale survived the onslaught of strikes that ensued and engaged M’Pumbu throughout round two.
In round three Hale’s title bid came to a dramatic end, however, as once again M’Pumbu floored the light-heavyweight with a pounding right hand. This time around Hale was unable to stop M’Pumbu’s flurry of follow up punches from above, giving the referee no choice but to bring the bout to a halt.
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire entrenched a rematch with Bellator Featherweight Champion Joe Warren, by working his way to a unanimous decision win over Daniel Straus. Utilizing his renowned striking skills, as well as an improved wrestling skill set, Freire kept Straus off balance all night with punches and the occasional takedown attempt.
Although Straus was in the fight throughout all three rounds, and never appeared to be in serious danger of being stopped, Freire did more than enough on the scorecards to take home the tourney championship and the $100,000 reward.
“Tonight was a great way to finish out what has been an incredible season on MTV2,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Christian had an amazing run to the title, and has certainly earned the right to be called a Bellator Champion. And with Pitbull getting the victory, I can’t wait to see Warren and Pitbull back in the cage for the title this summer.”
Official Main Card Results:
Christian M'Pumbu def. Richard Hale by TKO (Unanswered Strikes: Round 3)
Patricio Freire def. Daniel Straus by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Sam Alvey def. Karl Amoussou by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
