Bellator Fighting Championships returns TONIGHT (Oct. 15, 2011) to the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with the continuation of the promotion's season five middleweight tournament as the promotion holds its semifinals.
MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of Bellator 54 below, beginning with the MTV2 telecast at 9 p.m. ET. In addition, we'll deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of all the undercard action much earlier in the evening.
Headlining the main event will be a thrilling tournament battle between free-swinging Alexander Shlemenko and first round knockout artist Brian Rogers. The other semifinal bout will be between dangerous Brazilian Vitor Vianna and well-rounded season three tournament finalist Bryan Baker.
The special feature fight of the evening will be a match between Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky and UFC veteran Ryan Roberts, who's dropping down to 135 pounds for the first time. It will be interesting to see if Makovsky can continue to showcase the evolution of his game
The opening bout of the main card will be a lightweight attraction as top Bellator prospect Rene Nazare takes on local Maryland product Jacob Kirwan.
Complete Bellator 54 results and play-by-play are after the jump:
Main Card (MTV2)
185 lbs.: Alexander Shlemenko def. Brian Rogers via TKO at 2:30 Round 2
185 lbs.: Vitor Vianna def. Bryan Baker via TKO at 0:54 Round 1
135 lbs.: Zach Makovsky def. Ryan Roberts via submission (North-South choke) at 4:48 Round 1
155 lbs.: Jacob Kirwan def. Rene Nazare via unanimous decisionUndercard (Spike.com)
185 lbs.: Duane Bastress def. Daniel Gracie via TKO at 5:00 Round 2
205 lbs.: Tim Carpenter def. Ryan Contaldi via TKO at 2:16 Round 1
185 lbs.: Joey Kirwan def. Lewis Rumsey via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:30 Round 1
125 lbs.: Andria Caplan def. Adrienne Seiber via unanimous decision
135 lbs.: Claudio Ledesma def. Brian Kelleher via unanimous decision
Hemmi here, I'll be bringing the play-by-play of the main card for you Maniacs.
185 lbs.: Brian Rogers vs. Alexander Shlemenko
Round one: Rogers chases down Shlemenko as the Russian backs away early. Both men exchange in a flurry of strikes and they clinch along the fence. They trade knees and reset. Spinning back kick kick connects for Shlemenko and Rogers responds with a knee in the Muay Thai plum. Shlemenko lands a left hook and attempts a takedown but Rogers avoids it. Rogers pins Shlemenko against the fence and throws some big strikes. Rogers unloads a combination that blasts Shlemenko but the Russian hangs in there. Big right hand by Rogers knocks Shlemenko off balance. Shlemenko recovers and throws a big spinning heel kick and Rogers connects with a flurry of strikes once he's in range. They clinch and Rogers tosses Shlemenko to the canvas into his closed guard. Shlemenko sweeps back to his feet and they both exchange big strikes, clipping each other. Shlemenko initiates a clinch but Rogers reverses him. Rogers unloads big blows as both men again exchange and now Shlemenko opens up. They clinch until the round ends. 10-9 Rogers
Round two: They both throw a flurry of strikes to get things started and Rogers caps it off with a knee. Spinning back fist from Shlemenko and Rogers times it perfectly with a double-leg takedown into half guard. Shlemenko pops back to his feet adn Rogers unloads big body strikes . Shlemenko responds and unloads a big flurry of strikes and Rogers is hurt. Rogers bends over and eats a knee. Rogers saves himself by dropping to the three-point stance. Rogers pops up and blasts Shlemenko with a right hand but Shlemenko keeps the pressure. Rogers is still wobbly and Shlemenko grabs the back of his head, throwing knee after knee. Rogers uses the three-point stance again but Shlemenko blasts him with a right hook to the body and then finishes it with a knee to the face as the ref jumps in.
Final Result: Alexander Shlemenko defeats Brian Rogers via TKO at 2:30 round two
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185 lbs.: Vitor Vianna vs. Bryan Baker
Round one: Baker opens aggressively with a head kick and immediately presses the action, throwing some punches and getting in Vianna's face. Vianna responds with a pair of huge overhand rights. Vianna throws a HUGE overhand right that clips Baker, knocking him to the canvas. Vianna charges in with a soccer kick and is incredibly lucky it misses. Vianna follows up with hammer-fists along the fence and that's it! Damn!
Final Result: Vitor Vianna defeats Bryan Baker via TKO at 0:54 of round one
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135 lbs.: Ryan Roberts vs. Zack Makovsky
Round one: Makovsky immediately takes Roberts down and passes quickly to side control. Roberts turtles and explodes back to his feet. They posture for a bit and Makovsky lands a nice lead left hand and a pair of leg kicks. Head kick whiffs for Makovsky but he follows it up with another leg kick and a 1-2 combination. Makovsky is working his strikes from a distance rather well. Roberts catches him coming in with an uppercut but Makovsky recovers and staggers Roberts with a leg kick and then stumbles him with a quick straight combination. Roberts is bleeding now. Makovsky's speed is king. Roberts throws a kick and Makovsky catches it, taking him down with a flash. Wow, what a guard pass by Makovsky, that was slick. He's back to side control, dropping light ground and pound and he throws some knees to the body. Makovsky locks in North-South choke and Roberts taps right! Incredibly slick performance by Zach Makovsky!
Final Result: Zach Makovsky defeats Ryan Roberts via submission (North-South choke) at 4:48 Round 1
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155 lbs.: Jacob Kirwan vs. Rene Nazare
Round one: Nice leg kicks from Nazare early. Kirwin responds with a takedown attempt but gets stuffed. He tries again and gets it, but Nazare sweeps him and begins dropping some elbows. Ground and pound continues for Nazare but Kirwin ties him up from full guard and forces a stand-up. Nazare goes back to the leg kicks. Kirwan catches a kick from Nazare and takes him down. Kirwan remains on top for the rest of the round but can't do much damage from above as time runs out. 10-9 Nazare
Round two: Kirwan drops down and scores a takedown early. Kirwan passes to half-guard and begins dropping some ground and pound. He looks for an armlock but can't secure one. Kirwan flattens Nazare out and the pace begins to slow, after some light punches on the ground, the ref stands them up with just under two minutes left in the round. It doesn't take long before Kirwin catches a kick and takes him down again. Nazare looks for a guillotine, but can't secure it and Nazare slips free. Nazare latches on a kimura to stand back up, then takes Kirwan down along the fence. Kirwin has a cut opened up under his eye but Nazare didn't do enough to win the round. 10-9 Kirwin
Round three: Kirwan opens with some punches to keep Nazare guessing and then shoots in, taking him down the second he lowers his defenses. Nazare goes for another guillotine but Kirwan responds by advancing to half-guard. Kirwin drops some light ground and pound to keep the fight there, but he's not doing much damage. Kirwin tries to pass but can't do it, instead dropping some punches on Nazare. Nazare tries to get back to his feet and can't do it, he looks very frustrated and begins throwing elbows at Kirwan from the bottom. Nazare throws his legs up threatening and submission and gets back to his feet. Nazare takes Kirwan along the fence in the final 30 seconds of the round. 10-9 Kirwan
Final Result: Jacob Kirwan defeats Rene Nazare via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
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