Bellator will head down to the bayou TONIGHT (May 21, 2011) at the L'Auberge du Lac Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The main card will air live on MTV2, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Headlining the Bellator 45 main event will be the inaugural light heavyweight championship fight as the season four 205-pound tournament finalists, Richard Hale and Christian M'Pumbu, battle for up to five rounds to decide the promotion's first ever division champion.
The featherweight tournament will also hold its finals with exciting 145-pound fighters Daniel Straus and Patricio Freire, vying for the right to face current champion Joe Warren (on top of winning $100,000 in prize money).
Also on the main card will be a middleweight match up between M-1 veteran Karl Amoussou and King of the Cage veteran Sam Alvey, who will compete for a spot in the Bellator season five middleweight tournament.
Complete Bellator 45 results and play-by-play after the jump.
Main Card
205 lbs.: Christian M'Pumbu def. Richard Hale via TKO at 4:17 Round 3
145 lbs.: Patricio Freire def. Daniel Straus via unanimous decision
185 lbs.: Sam Alvey def. Karl Amoussou via split decisionPreliminary Card
265 lbs.: Shawn Jordan def. Johnathan Hill via TKO round 1
170 lbs.: Luis Santos def. Nicolae Cury via unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Rene Nazare def. Kelvin Hackney via submission (rear-naked choke) in round 1
185 lbs.: Tim Ruberg def. Michael Fleniken via unanimous decision
140 lbs.: Joseph Abercrombie def. Ben Parpart via submission (rear-naked choke) in round 1
Richard Hale (17-3-1) vs. Christian M'Pumbu (17-3-1)
Round one: M'Pumbu responds to a Hale jab with a solid low kick. Hale retaliates with two kicks of his own. More body kicks from Hale but M'Pumbu counters with a big kick of his own but it pushed into the fence. M'Pumbu connects cleanly and Hale is on wobbly legs. M'Pumbu turns it on and Hale drops to his back. M'Pumbu is looking for a submission but can't get it and Hale escapes back to his feet. while M'Pumbu smells blood and lets his hands go. Hale now on his back with M'Pumbu fishing for a D'arce, but Hale clears space and sneaks back to his feet. 10-9 M'Pumbu
Round two: Hale takes the center of the cage and pushes forward but M'Pumbu is dancing around him with his speed and circling away. Big leg kick from M'Pumbu and Hale tries to respond with a head kick/jab combo. Another leg kick wobbles Hale. Hale attempts a semi-superman punch and throws consecutive kicks that connect. Hale needs to use that reach if he wants to start doing damage standing. Both men trade jabs. Hale really turning up the pace here, trying to land his punches and he connects with a lunging right hook. M'Pumbu is dancing away from most of his attacks though. Right leg kicks lands for M'Pumbu, then another. Hale presses forward and forces M'Pumbu to hop on his bicycle for the remainder of the round. Nice step up in aggression for Hale here. 10-9 Hale
Round three: Hale lands a solid left hook early but M'Pumbu defends his follow-up strikes. Hale has command of the center of the cage and M'Pumbu is looking to counter. Left high kick from Hale is blocked and M'Pumbu is just fighting too defensively right now. M'Pumbu now takes command of the center and he's being much more aggressive than Hale was. Nice leg kick from M'Pumbu and Hale counters with two body shots. HUGE right hand from M'Pumbu drops Hale to the canvas and M'Pumbu swarms him! M'Pumbu throwing monstrous overhand rights from top position and they're sneaking past Hale's defenses and connecting solidly! M'Pumbu passes to side control and continues dropping bombs and the referee stops the fight! Christian M'Pumbu wins via TKO and is the first ever Bellator light heavyweight champion!
Final Result: Christian M'Pumbu defeats Richard Hale via technical knockout (TKO) at 4:17 of round one
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145 lbs.: Patricio Freire (16-1) vs. Daniel Straus (16-3)
Round one: Both men circle and clinch. Straus lands a solid throw but Pitbull hops right back to his feet. They go to the fence again and this time it's Freire looking for the takedown. Another toss attempt from Straus but Freire defense. Straus shoots for a takedown but Freire sprawls brilliantly and attempts a guillotine in defense. Both men trade strikes with Freire getting the better of it. Straus again shoots for a takedown but Freire sprawls it. Body lock from Straus but Pitbull frees himself and aggressively pushes forward with strikes to finish the round. 10-9 Freire
Round two: Both men trade strikes and Freire shoots in and slams Straus with authority. This is not a good position for Daniel. Straus trying to wall-walk up the fence and it looks like Freire throws a knee to the head while he's grounded. The referee stops the fight temporarily and after the replay, it was obvious the knee was to the body. They reset and both men circle each other. Pitbull lands multiple snapping leg kicks that lift Straus' lead leg up into the air. Straus is trying to work his striking but he can't land anything significant. Freire is outclassing him with his striking and Straus lands a low blow. They only pause for a brief instant. Another excellent inside leg kick connects with from Freire. Straus pushes forward and throws and excellent knee to the body and slams Pitbull with a head toss at the end of the round but it wasn't enough to steal the round. 10-9 Freire
Round three: Both men stand for the first minute but Straus just can't get off. Freire isn't landing anything clean, but he's efficient and landing more effectively. Straus shoots for a takedown and again, Pitbull stuffs it. They reset and Pitbull lands a decent inside leg kick and forces Straus to back up. Straus starts stepping forward but he's only got 80 seconds to win this fight. Freire shoots for a takedown now and pushes Straus into the fence. Only 60 seconds remaining. Straus isn't turning it up, he really needs a finish here. Pitbull raises his hands, showboating with 25 seconds left. Freire backs Straus up with a lunging left hook and throws a HUGE flying knee after Straus bounces off the fence but it doesn't connect cleanly. Straus shoots deep and tosses Pitbull with a suplex in the final seconds of the fight. 10-9 Freire
Final Result: Patricio Pitbull defeats Daniel Straus via unanimous decision
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185 lbs.: Karl Amoussou (12-3-2) vs. Sam Alvey (14-2)
Round one: Amoussou starts out very aggressive with multiple kicks that are blocked. Amoussou throws a solid low kick that knocks Alvey off balance and to the canvas, and follows him to the canvas and into Alvey's guard. They stall and the fight is stood back up. Amoussou keeps coming forward with the kicks. He clinches and makes a beautiful throw on Alvey, landing in full mount. Amoussou starts dropping some absolutely insane elbows and opens a ghastly cut on Alvey. Alvey is taking a beating now. This is like from a horror movie. Amoussou with an arm bar attempt but Alvey defends and finishes the fight in Amoussou's guard. 10- Amoussou and the clean-up crew will have their work cut out for them.
Round two: Amoussou wades in wildly and gets caught by Alvey, big flying knee from Amoussou but Alvey avoids it and clinches with him against the fence. The ref stops the action quickly and they reset. Amoussou lands a short low blow but they aren't paused long and both men resume throwing punches. Big flurry of punches from Amoussou and he pushes Alvey into the fence. Excellent trip takedown by Amoussou, but Alvey sweeps him immediately and takes top control. Alvey throws some minor ground and pound until the final horn sounds. 10-10 .
Round three: Alvey opens aggressively with a hook and jab and Amoussou responds with a body kick. Great knees from Alvey here and Amoussou pushes him into the cage, throwing nice knees to the leg. The ref separates them again. Alvey gets backed into the cage after the reset and Amoussou again works for a trip with his Judo but again, Alvey reverses him and throws some HUGE ground and pound until the final bell. Great finish to the fight and both men embrace after the final horn. 10-9 Alvey
Final Result: Sam Alvey defeats Karl Amoussou via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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