Bellator 42's "Fight of the Night": Hale vs. Linderman

As the light heavyweight tournament final comes to a head, we now have a chance to look back at the semi-final bout that determined the fate for one man to make his way to the end of a long and arduous road. One man realizes a dream, while the other one has his crushed in return.

Richard Hale was perhaps the most widely regarded 205-pounder in the field after his impressive submission victory over Nik Fekete in the quarter-finals, when he pulled off an inverted triangle choke inside of the first-round of their match–instantly becoming a favorite for “Submission of the Year”, even though we’re just in April.

D.J. Linderman, however, has proved to be no pushover in the tournament, as he was able to record an impressive third-round TKO over Raphael Davis, who was touted as a favorite for the whole “sha-bang”. Though in his bout with Hale, Linderman came up short, both men proved their worth.

In the semi-final bout, Hale was undoubtedly the favorite not only for his impressive submission win in is previous outing, but also due in large to his enormous stature. Richard regularly walks around at a solid 240-pounds before he pares down to the light heavyweight class. Linderman on the other hand, is way undersized for the division, though it didn’t stop him from taking Hale to a contentious, yet entertaining, decision.

In the first-round, both men felt each other out on the feet, trying variations of wild strikes which saw Linderman try out a spinning back fist which was answered by a turning heel kick from Hale.

In the second, Linderman tried his hand again at the back first, however the blow found it’s mark and sent Hale crashing to the floor with the cage helping him stay somewhat upright. Linderman followed Hale to the fence, though by then Rich was already fully recovered, jockeying for position, the both men eventually found their way back to their feet. Then, out of nowhere Hale landed a flurry of strikes rocking D.J., however this time the cage was in his favor as he was able to quickly regain his composure and lock up with the big man, waiting for the time to run out.

Both men knew they needed the last round to cinch up the decision, and immediately D.J. drove Hale to the fence, however ended up mounted after a botched takedown attempt. Hale spent the rest of the round in superior position, and in the end eked out a split decision win with scores of 29-28 (twice for Hale) and 29-28 (Linderman).

Though Hale will now meet in the finals with Christian M’Pumbu to determine Bellator’s first ever light heavyweight champion, Linderman will surely find himself back in the organization, putting on more exciting fights for the fans to see, and with their bout now in the books, they can both take solace in the fact that they have earned the unofficial “Fight of the Night” award for their performances.

So, MMA peeps–agree? Disagree? How will either man fare in Bellator? Sound off in the comment section below.