Bellator 41 Results: Most Likely The Best Event Of "The MTV2 Era"

Another one went into the history books tonight, as upstart promotion Bellator FC celebrated its forty-first event, another live and weekly event on the MTV2 network. The event saw two semi-final fights of Bellator’s Season Four tournaments, as well as two non-title “super-fights” featuring Bellator Champions Zach Makovsky and Joe Warren. Here are the full results as well as some early commentary for Bellator 41.

Brendan Tierney defeats Dano Moore via submission (armbar) at 0:49 of Round 1. Nick Piedmont defeats Michael Parker via split decision. Anthony Birchak defeats Tyler Bialecki via submission (brabo choke) at 4:06 Round 1. Daniel Straus defeats Kenny Foster via submission (guillotine choke) 3:48 of Round 3. Zach Makovsky defeats Chad Robichaux by TKO (strikes) at 2:02 of Round 3. Patricio Freire defeats Wilson Reis by KO (Strikes) at 3:29 of Round 3. Joe Warren defeats Marcos Galvao via Unanimous Decision.

Now this is what I’ve come to expect from Bellator. After an underwhelming Bellator 41 event, I really hoped that the 145-pound and 135-pound lighter-weight fighters would reproduce the fireworks of the first few MTV2 Bellator events. I’m very glad to say that that’s exactly what I got, and I remain as strong a fan of the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions as I was when the WEC was in its heyday and putting on amazing fights and fantastic events left and right. Perhaps even moreso.

Seeing Daniel Straus submit Kenny Foster really tugged at my heartstrings. The man is a total “dark horse” for this tournament, and I can admit that he’s got his toughest test ahead of him when he heads to the finals of this particular Bellator Tournament. But sometimes you just have to celebrate these kinds of feel-good victories, with the underdog continuing to battle against the odds and surprise us all. No matter what, Straus continues to put on exciting fights while remaining supremely humble. He’s got a home in Bellator regardless of what happens in the finals.

I was very, very, very impressed by Zach Makovsky. Chad Robichaux is no joke, he was unbeaten with ten submissions out of eleven wins. And yet Makovsky just dominated him, passing his guard at will, putting him in danger several times, nearly submitting him, and even slamming him to the canvas on multiple occasions. Makovsky’s strength, power, and wrestling leads me to believe that the Bantamweight Championship is around his waist for a reason, and that he’s one of the best in Bellator.

I was also very impressed by Patricio Freire. It was very clear from the first round onward that this would be a mostly-standup fight, with both men’s impressive ground games neutralizing each other. But unlike his brother Patricky Freire, Patricio never got an opening to launch a big one-hit knockout shot. Instead, it took Freire three tough rounds against a very game Wilson Reis until Freire landed something solid. Even then, it took him several more hard, hard shots before Reis’s chin finally crumbled. It was a very grueling, hard-fought victory, and while it may not have been the most entertaining fight of the night, it was definitely exciting at times and had a great finish.

The main event of Bellator 41 was a very back-and-forth war of attrition fought at 137 pounds and featuring Bellator’s 145-pound champion Joe Warren. Warren clearly seemed to be affected by the drop in weight, as his once-dominant wrestling continued to be nullified until he finally was able to implement it in the third and final round. In fact, Marcos Galvao outright dominated Joe Warren during Round 2. But the main question of this fight would turn out to be who the judges gave the very close first round to, and in the end, the judges scored a rare victory and gave the fight to Joe Warren.

Overall, this is exactly the kind of event I was expecting from Bellator. In fact, had it not been for Bellator 40, this would have been the final straw that broke the camel’s back: if 40 had lived up to its potential, this show would’ve made Bellator my new “dark horse favorite”. As it stands, Bellator has blazed ahead to the front of the pack and now stands as the most likely candidate to replace the WEC. Everything rests on Bellator 42, but I will say this: Bellator 41 may just be the best Bellator event I’ve yet seen.

And what about you, fans and friends? Any thoughts on Bellator 41?