Bellator Fighting Championships VI results and quick recap

The championship fight is now set for Bellator Fighting Championships featherweight tournament following the promotion's seventh event in a twelve part series last night at the Central Pavilion Arena at Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown, Texas.

And surprise, surprise, the tournament favorite Wilson Reis will not be a part of that final bout.

Taking his place will be the man that mopped the cage floor with him on Friday night - undefeated 22 year old Joe "The Hammer" Soto. The former All-American wrestler from Iowa Central Community College needed all three rounds and the approval from the three cageside judges to pull off the win, but the actual fight itself wasn't that close.

The Hammer used his wrestling pedigree to control the fight by stuffing any and all of Reis' takedown attempts and forcing the Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert to work outside of his comfort zone and trade strikes for the full fifteen minutes -- not exactly his strong suit -- and it showed. Soto was dominant on his feet with a much more technical and effective stand up game. He was the clear cut winner and takes over as the new favorite to win this tournament.

If after this Bellator experiment is all said and done, it turns out to be deemed a failure, they'll have one thing to hang their hat on - being responsible for introducing the mixed martial arts world to Joe Soto. The sky is the limit for this kid.

The opponent he'll be facing sometime in the next six weeks was decided in the co-main event bout between Yahir Reyes and Estevan "El Terrible" Payan. The much bigger Payan, who failed to make weight for this semifinal bout, tried to be the aggressor as the fight wore on, but he paid dearly in the second round when he walked right into a perfectly timed spinning back fist, ala Shonie Carter, from Reyes that brought an immediate halt to the fight.

Reyes, who has now pulled off back-to-back upsets to reach the championship final, will face off against Soto with the winner earning a $100,000 paycheck.

Check out the full results from Bellator VI below:

145 lbs.: Joe Soto defeated Wilson Reis via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Yahir Reyes defeated Estevan Payan via knockout (spinning back fist) at 1:56 of round two
145 lbs.: Luis Palomino defeated Nick Gonzalez via technical knockout (strikes) at 2:13
145 lbs.: Roberto Vargas defeated Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Jose Santibanez defeated Dustin Phillips via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:34 of round one
185 lbs.: Bubba McDaniel defeated Chris Spicer via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:53 of round one
175 lbs.: Hector Urbina defeated Ira Boyd via technical knockout (injury) at 0:19 of round one

Next week Bellator Fighting Championships VII will take place at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois. The four remaining contestants in the welterweight tournament will be in action.

On one side of the bracket, former UFC champion Dave Menne will battle Omar De La Cruz, and Jorge Ortiz and Lyman Good will square off in the other semifinal bout. UFC heavyweight veteran Eddie Sanchez is also expected to be in action on the card.

You definitely won’t want to miss that.

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