Bellator 130 results and recap: Newton submits Vassell, Lashley stops Etherington and more

The Kansas Star Arena hosted the eighth event of Bellator's Season 11 last night (Fri., Oct. 24, 2014), and Bellator 130 delivered fights with title implications and future title shot ramifications.

The main event in Mulvane saw "The Hardcore Kid" Emanuel Newton return to the same arena where he beat Attila Vegh for the title in March, looking to make his second title defense in two months.

Having knocked out Joey Beltran with a sizzling spinning backfist in October, Newton hoped to repeat that kind of performance despite the added pressure of taking two title defenses six weeks apart. "The Swarm" Linton Vassell took a nine-fight win streak into his first crack at a world title outside of Britain.

The pressure only increased in the first two rounds, as Vassell looked dominant on the ground and cranked on a kimura so hard in the second that Newton seemed seconds away from tapping.

That turned out to be Vassell's last chance though, as Newton took him down repeatedly in the third and fourth. When he sprawled to block a takedown early in the fifth, Newton found the key to victory by quickly spinning to Vassell's back and sinking in the rear naked choke for a tap after 47 seconds. Zombie Prophet provides the visual:

Newton spoke to Jimmy Smith afterward.

"I didn't dream about (a fight) this hard," he said. "I knew I was going to get the choke. I thought it was going to be in the first round, but man, Linton's tough, man. The man keeps coming."

The co-main event on Spike TV saw returning heavyweight Bobby Lashley face the challenge of the undefeated "Wrecking Machine" Karl Etherington.

Etherington boasted two impressive stats going into last night's fight -- he finished eight out of his nine opponents with a knockout or submission, and had yet to go to the second round in a fight.

For the collegiate amateur turned pro wrestler turned MMA fighter, Etherington represented one of the most dangerous opponents he had faced to date, so both Lashley and Etherington were looking to get it over early; however, it was a mistake by Etherington that ended it.

Slipping on a throw attempt, Etherington gave Lashley his back to pound out a stoppage via tapout, as "The Wrecking Machine" was getting wrecked by lefts and rights to the head. The official time was 1:31 (.gif via Zombie Prophet):

A cocky and confident Lashley spoke to Jimmy Smith after the official decision.

"You don't want to stay in there too long because you risk the chance of getting hit back," he said. "As soon as I had that opportunity ... I just ... I went a little nuts."

And as for his title aspirations?

"Every time when I get into this cage, I start feeling better and better," he said. "I'm moving faster, I'm hitting harder -- God forbid they try to take me down -- they (will) get punished."

Bellator 130 also featured the promotional debut of Marloes Coenen, former Strikeforce bantamweight champion, looking to make her name at featherweight against another debuting fighter, kickboxer Annalisa Bucci.

It was at times a strange fight, as Coenen was so confident in her submission game that she willingly gave up the top position. Bucci was so afraid of that submission game she refused to open up and strike while on top, so Coenen wound up doing more damage with strikes off of her back.

It all came to a head in the third and final round, as Coenen got a quick takedown and this time Bucci had no defense as Coenen transitioned to the back for the rear naked choke, confirming Coenen's dominance via tap at 0:57.

Coenen spoke to Jimmy Smith after the fight:

"I'm happy about that," she said. "I'm really happy to be apart of the Bellator family. Scott (Coker) signed me in Strikeforce, I'm very grateful for that, and he picked me up again in a tough moment of my career. I'm grateful to him for infinity."

The opening bout on Spike TV pitted two former tournament winners against each other, as Dave Jansen and Rick "Genghis" Hawn made their argument to be next in line for a lightweight title shot after Marcin Held.

The recent departure of Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez shook up the division, and while "Ill" Will Brooks and Michael Chandler will crown a new champion on Nov. 15, 2014, one of these two men will be waiting in the wings.

That man is Dave Jansen. A precision strategy quickly emerged in the first round as Jansen stayed just out of distance for Hawn's heavy hands, but just close enough to kick the lead left leg over and over again. Even when Hawn tried to switch stances in the later rounds, the punishment continued.

Hawn's inability to close the distance gap cost him a unanimous decision of 29-28 and 30-27 X2. Jansen spoke to Jimmy Smith after the fight about his future as a title contender. "It only makes sense. I'm 7-0 in Bellator. Show me another lightweight with a better record."

The televised bouts were paired with exciting preliminary action that aired exclusively on Spike.com. Check out our live streaming results RIGHT HERE to see who else made a name for themselves inside the cage at Bellator 130 in Kansas, including an early victory by Alex Huddleston with Bobby Lashley in his corner.