Bellator 72 results recap from last night for ‘Amoussou vs Baker' in Tampa, Florida

Bellator Fighting Championships gained steam last night (July 20, 2012) with Bellator 72 from the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL., and it was a night that got better with each fight.

The main event was headlined by the Bellator season six welterweight finals which featured former middleweights Karl Amoussou and Bryan Baker. Fans barely got a chance to get settled in before it was all done.

About 45 seconds into the bout, Baker threw a side kick which semi-landed but Amoussou dropped down and rolled into a nasty inverted heel hook which forced "The Beast" to tap out for the first time in his career.

An emotional Karl Amoussou called out champion Ben Askren in his post-fight speech, calling him a "lay-and-prayer" and saying he'll "bring some excitement back to the welterweight division."

I like the sound of that.

There was plenty more main card action after the jump.

British welterweight striker Paul Daley made his Bellator debut in the co-headliner against the always-game Rudy Bears. Daley came out kicking, throwing a big series of head, body and leg kicks which were relatively ineffective.

After Bears backed Daley into the fence, the Brit grabbed onto a Thai clinch and blasted him with a pair of knees to back him off. With Bears' body exposed, Daley dropped down with a devastating left hook which folded his opponent in half. After a few big blows on the ground, the bout was stopped.

In Summer Series light heavyweight tournament action, former MFC champion Emanuel Newton took on European standout Attila Vegh. Both men were coming off impressive submissions in the quarterfinals, but neither could get anything really going in this one.

Newton pressed the action in the stand-up while Vegh countered with short combinations and single shots from his right hand. After a semi-close pair of rounds, Vegh started the third strong by rocking Newton but again backed off in what had become a theme of the fight.

In the end, the judges sided with Vegh via split decision, which drew some derision from the crowd and from the media. The lone judge who had scored it for Newton gave him the fight 30-27.

In the other tournament semifinal, massive Minnesota veteran wrestler Travis Wiuff took complete control of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Tim Carpenter for three rounds. During the bout, Wiuff actually controlled the stand-up for brief portions, dominated Carpenter in the clinch and then took him down at will, dropping semi-regular ground and pound and avoiding all of Carpenter's submission attempts. It was a workmanlike performance and was rewarded with a clean sweep of the judges' scorecards.

Opening up the night was a welterweight showdown between former Dream welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis and fan-friendly brawler Waachiim Spiritwolf. This was a trilogy bout and Zaromskis fought smart this time compared to the original rematch.

"Whitemare" kept his distance, peppering Spiritwolf with a jab and occasional mixing in combinations. His trademark head kick was practically nonexistent but he remained composed and measured throughout the fight.

Surprisingly, one of the judges sided with Spiritwolf, but in the end, Zaromskis capped off the trilogy with a split decision victory.

So what did you think, Maniacs?

Did Amoussou's quick submission victory catch you off guard? Does he have a shot of dethroning Askren? Who would you like to see Paul Daley face in his next fight at welterweight in Bellator?

Sound off!

For complete Bellator 72 results and detailed round-by-round commentary of all the televised fights as well as the main event click here.