Bellator 46 Results: One Of Bellator's Best Shows And A Guaranteed "Sleeper Hit Of The Year" Contender

Last night, upstart promotion Bellator FC took to the airwaves for the first time since the end of their fourth season. This event was the first in Bellator’s “Summer Series”, and before I say the following, I’d like to let everyone know that you should prepare yourself for a doozy of a statement, fans and friends. Here it is: with the start of their “Summer Series”, Bellator FC has set the benchmark for summer 2011. This show was that good. In fact, it was one of the best Bellator shows I’ve ever seen. Here are the full results as well as some early commentary for Bellator 46.

Pat Curran defeats Luis Palomino via submission (Peruvian necktie) at 3:49 of round one. Marlon Sandro defeats Genair da Silva via split decision. Nazareno Malagarie defeats Jacob Devree via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:26 of round three. Ronnie Mann defeats Adam Schindler via knockout at 4:14 of round one. Alexandre Bezerra defeats Sam Jones via submission (triangle choke) at 3:23 of round one. Jessica Aguilar defeats Carla Esparza via split decision. Dan Cramer defeats Josh Samman via unanimous decision. Tony Johnson Jr. defeats Derrick Lewis via unanimous decision.

Traditionally, this would be the part where I give my opinions of the event’s fights on a fight-by-fight basis. However, I’d like to break from that usual format to say the following three things.

The first is: Bellator, my friend, it’s good to have you back.

The second is: Bellator, my friend, you’re spoiling us.

The third is: Bellator, my friend, you just blew a Strikeforce show clear out of the water.

I’d like to compare Bellator 46 to Strikeforce’s “Challengers 16”, but there’s really no comparison. “Challengers” had a few good fights (two, at the max three) with no stoppages. This event saw five free fights with four stoppages, with three stoppages occurring in the first round all four of them very dramatic for very different reasons.

First up, we saw Ronnie Mann just decimate Adam Schindler. All it took was a few good punches and enough time to figure out Schindler’s timing, and Mann was able to turn out the lights in fiery fashion. Schindler was stone-cold KTFO’d, and can you really have a better way to start out a night of fights?

Then we had Nazareno Malegarie finally pull off his submission win over a very game Jacob Devree. Both men fought with a ton of heart and some very impressive cardio, and when Malegarie finally locked in the submission he was hunting for all night, I was pretty happy.

And in the only bout that went to a decision on the main televised card, Marlon Sandro fought a tough, skilled opponent in a mostly-entertaining fight. I’ll admit that Sandro didn’t live up to all of his hype, mostly because he didn’t finish the fight, but here’s credit where credit is due: Marlon Sandro lived up to most of his hype.

And in the main event, Pat Curran became one of only a handful of men to have ever successfully used the Peruvian Necktie to win an MMA bout. I don’t have much to say about this fight other than to say that Pat Curran once again proved why he’s one of the best fighters in all of Bellator.

And if that wasn’t enough, Bellator said “give them more free fights!” and went over their scheduled runtime to give us a quick preliminary bout that ended when Alexandre Bezerra transitioned from an Arm Triangle Choke to a Mounted Triangle to a standard Triangle Choke.

I’m not just impressed with Bellator, I’m absolutely astounded. This card lived up to every bit of its potential, and it’s honestly one of the best Bellator events I’ve ever seen. Bellator’s lighter-weight fighters bring it, fans and friends. If you missed this show, find a way to watch it. It’s really as simple as that, and this show really is that good. “UFC on Versus 4” is going to have to do some serious heavy lifting to emerge the victor of this “Perfect Storm” weekend.