Bellator Fighting Championships held event number 34 tonight (Oct. 28) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL.
With the explosive hands of Hector Lombard and the sweeping submissions of Megumi Fujii, it was expected the night would be a veritable highlight reel.
Instead, the judges were called on to decide all three televised fights.
In the main event, Lombard was defending his 185-pound championship against season three middleweight tournament winner Alexander Shlemenko. "Shango" was a ball of fire from the opening bell but slowed down considerably once "Storm" proved to be a tough out. His takedowns controlled the fight throughout and angered the crowd considerably.
Shlemenko tried to make it exciting, throwing plenty of spinning back fists and kicks. Had he landed one, what ended up being a rather pedestrian affair could have been a classic.
Alas, it was not to be.
Lombard extends his winning streak to 21 and called out Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in the post fight interview. He may want to be careful what he wishes for.
The other championship fight of the evening was highly anticipated and featured what many are calling a monumental upset.
Season three women's junior flyweight tournament winner Zoila Frausto battled her way to a split decision victory over undefeated wrecking machine Megumi Fujii. The victory earned the "Warrior Princess" the first ever Bellator Women's 115-pound title.
Fujii commented before the fight that she was scared of Frausto's physical strength. It was painfully clear from the beginning the size disparity would play a rather large part in the bout. "Mega Megu" was reluctant to use her considerable grappling skills and paid a mighty price for it.
Frausto felt she was the underdog and couldn't help but get emotional when asked about her victory. Tears fell freely although they were exclusive to her right eye, as her left eye was swollen shut.
"I earned this," she said of her split decision win.
In the opener, Mike Bernhard was able to counter punch his way past Dragan Tesanovic to a unanimous decision. He said he didn't like being the guy to welcome the Russian to the U.S.A. and he would show him Americans do it better.
For the purposes of this fight, he was right.
It may not have been a night of barn burning action as many were anticipating, but it was entertaining nonetheless.
Here are the Bellator 34 complete results:
Main Card:
Hector Lombard def. Alexander Shlemenko via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Zoila Frausto def. Megumi Fujii via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)
Mike Bernhard def. Dragan Tesanovic via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card:
Frank Carrillo def. Moyses Gabin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Dan Cramer def. Igor Almeida via TKO (doctor stoppage) - Round 1, 2:36
Raphael Davis def. Tony Lopez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
J.P. Reese def. Bomnay Somchay via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 3:32