Weekend Rundown: Bahadurzada, Depret Advance to Glory GP Final
Chris Nelson Mar 21, 2011
Sherdog.com Illustration
The final of United Glory’s 2010-2011 MMA World Series will be an all-Golden Glory affair, as welterweight stablemates Siyar Bahadurzada and Tommy Depret each emerged victorious from their semifinal bouts at the Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium, on Saturday.
Bahadurzada put a stop to Canadian John Alessio’s seven-fight win streak, punching out the former UFC and WEC welterweight title challenger with ground-and-pound just 1:55 into the first round. The 26-year-old “Siyar the Great” -- who inked a Strikeforce deal in April 2010, but has yet to debut for the promotion -- has won four of his last five via first-round knockout.
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The Shooto Belgium-affiliated promotion will hold its next event May 22 in Moscow, where Bahadurzada and Depret will square off in the tournament final for a total of $150,000 in prize money.
Filho, ‘Grilo’ Notch Decisions in
Brazil
Paulo Filho walked away on the winning end of what was reportedly a razor-thin split decision, outpointing Peru’s Jackson Mora in the main event of WFC Pretorian’s Saturday show in Rio das Ostras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The bout was the first of three lined up in the coming months for the 32-year-old former World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight champion, who is slated to face Ronny Markes on April 29 and Gustavo Machado on May 14.
Bellator welterweight veteran Marcelo Alfaya took a unanimous nod on the judges’ scorecards, topping Daniel Aspe after three rounds. Paulo Teixeira made it a clean sweep for Brazilian fighters against their Peruvian counterparts, as the lightweight “Rambinho” earned a 2-1 decision over the Lima-based Johnny Iwasaki.
Super ‘Moon’ Ruins Eklund’s Return
The first Swedish fighter to compete in the UFC, Per Eklund, returned from a two-year hiatus at Saturday’s Vision Fighting Championship 2 in Karlstad, Sweden. Unfortunately for the hometown favorite, Norway’s Thomas Hytten had designs on marring Eklund’s comeback and featherweight debut.
Hytten, a longtime training partner of Joachim Hansen who was himself returning from a 22-month layoff, needed just 48 seconds to land a crushing overhand left and ruin Eklund’s night. The knockout halted a three-fight losing skid for “Moon Lee” and settled an eight-year-old score: Eklund and Hytten previously fought to a draw under the Shooto Finland banner in February 2003.
On the show’s undercard, middleweight standout Magnus Cedenblad ran his current win streak to six with a Brabo-choking of Lithuanian late replacement Benas Mikalauskas. The 6-foot-3 Swede locked in the fight-ending hold at 1:52 of the opening round and is next expected to compete on April 30 at Superior Challenge 7 in Stockholm.
Quick Hits:
B.J. Penn protégé Shane Nelson submitted Jai Bradney via second-round guillotine choke in the main event of Saturday’s Nitro MMA 2 in Logan City, Australia. It was Nelson’s first fight since his December 2009 release from the UFC. After the defeat, Bradney -- who fell to 1-3 in his last four outings -- announced his retirement... Chad Freeman won his fourth straight and captured the vacant King of the Cage Canada lightweight title Friday in Edmonton, punching out Troy Sorenson just 30 seconds into their KOTC “Brawl in the Mall 4” headliner. In the co-main event, Ryan Knysh upset Clayton Sheen with a second-round armbar to avenge a January 2010 loss and claim the KOTC Canada bantamweight strap.
More Weekend Event Coverage »
• ‘Bones’ Takes Throne by Force at UFC 128
• Khalidov Armbars Irvin, Sokoudjou Blasts Blachowicz at KSW 15
• Bellator 37 Results & Live Play-by-Play
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