Bellator 147 results recap, video highlights for 'Thomson vs Villaseca'

Bellator 147: "Thomson vs. Villaseca" took place tonight (Fri., Dec. 4, 2015) inside Event Center Arena in San Jose, Calif., streaming live on Spike TV.

The main event featured San Jose native Josh 'The Punk' Thomson going for consecutive wins in his hometown since signing with Bellator, coming off a third round submission of Mike Bronzoulis at Bellator 142.

Did the local favorite make it two in a row against Pablo Villaseca, or did the younger man 'Punk' out Thomson?

Was there ever any doubt?

Thomson emerged triumphant with superior wrestling technique which put him in good positions to use his jiu-jitsu, particularly when Villaseca tried a sweep in round one. The Chilean fighter was outclassed for virtually the entire fight, and when Thomson opened up his ground and pound in round two, Jason Herzog had seen enough and waved it off at 3:59.

Thomson spoke to Jimmy Smith after the main event:

"I can not lose in this town right? I love it San Jose, I love it! He was young and hungry, he wanted to push the pace, I caught him with a body kick early to let him know don't rush into me. Everybody wants to see me fight Chandler, hey I'll take Will Brooks too, but the hype right now is with me and Chandler."

The co-main event featured two featherweight contenders on the cusp of a title shot. Daniel Weichel wanted to earn a second chance after nearly knocking off the champion, Patrício Freire, while Georgi Karakhanyan sought to reestablish the title shot that was once his after submitting Bubba Jenkins.

Weichel was the superior striker throughout all three rounds. Karakhanyan kept trying to drop his hands and bait Weichel into a brawl, but the German stayed patient and punished the lead leg with kicks, then used his jab to set up the overhand right, stunning Karakhanyan several times.

By the third round Karakhanyan was visibly desperate, trying to get anything to land, even falling down in his attempt to land a cartwheel kick. Weichel just calmly circled and fired off combos from range. The judges awarded the unanimous decision to Weichel 30-27 X3.

Thomson and Villaseca were not the only lightweights in action on this evening. Patricky Freire and Derek Anderson had this dance once before, and Anderson emerged the victor last time, so this was potential redemption for Freire.

It was a close one, folks.

The first round and third rounds were coin flips, leaving the only clear round to go to Freire in round two, who hurt Anderson badly with knees, causing blood to pour from his nose and making it difficult to breathe as Freire hunted for a rear naked choke.

"Pitbull" will wish he had tried harder to sink it in, because in the third round Anderson's volume of strikes seemed to matter more than the harder blows landed by Freire. For the second time in a row Freire lost a decision to Anderson, with split scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29.

Adan Piccolotti and Mario Soto had a match between two young guns of the lightweight division, each with six wins to date in their career, but it was Piccolotti who emerged the superior fighter. His relentless aggression and his superior ground game overwhelmed Soto in the second round, bloodying him with elbows and tapping him out at 3:25.

A Light Heavyweight fight that promised to be exciting, if not necessarily highly technical, placed 'Rezdog' Virgil Zwicker and 'The Professional Predator' Brian Rogers in each other's sights for a showdown in the Bellator cage.

Rogers had lost six of his last nine coming into Bellator 147, but seemed to have a tailor-made opponent in Zwicker, someone he could take down with authority due to his willingness to stand and bang. His only critical mistake was nearly being docked a point for two straight groin kicks in round two, the second doubling Zwicker over in pain.

Zwicker recovered, Rogers received a verbal warning, and the two circled for a while before Rogers hit another takedown and quickly got mount. He transitioned from the back to the top for some ground and pound, applied the arm triangle, jumped to the side and tapped Zwicker out at 4:38.

The televised bouts were paired with exciting "Prelims" action that aired exclusively on Spike.com.

Check out our live streaming Bellator 147 results RIGHT HERE to see who else made a name for themselves inside the cage last night in Thackerville.