Alexander Shlemenko returns to semis with Bellator 50 tournament win

Bellator Season 2 finalist Alexander Shlemenko showed again this past Saturday night why he is the man to beat in Bellator’s ongoing hunt to determine the next man in line for a shot at middleweight champ Hector Lombard’s title. The 27-year old Russian not only beat DREAM veteran Zelg Galesic less than two minutes into their Bellator Season 5 tournament bout at Bellator 50 but did so in especially impressive fashion after abandoning his powerful stand-up for a standing Guillotine Choke finish.

Shlemenko improved his overall record to 41-7 with the victory with 25 of his wins coming via TKO. He has emerged with his hands raised ten of the last eleven times he’s entered the ring with the only exception being a five-round decision loss to Lombard. In addition to Galesic, “Storm” holds past wins over Sean Salmon and Brett Cooper.

Shlemenko Victorious in Bellator 44 Thriller

Joining Shlemenko in the semifinal round are Vitor Vianna, Brian Rogers, and Bryan Baker. Vianna held off Sam Alvey in a tough three-round battle that could have gone either way, while Rogers and Baker both found strike-based success in their respective scraps against Victor O’Donnell and Jared Hess.

Read below for a full rundown of Bellator 50 results:

J.P. Reese def. Martin Brown via Unanimous Decision
Cristiano Souza def. John Kelly via Unanimous Decision
Ailton Barbosa def. Ryan Keenan via Rear-Naked Choke Round 1
Rad Martinez def. Brian Van Hoven via Unanimous Decision
Brett Cooper def. Valdir Araujo via TKO Round 3
Shah Babonis def. Marcos da Matta via TKO Round 3
Marcelo Goncalves def. Dietter Navarro via Armbar Round 1
Vitor Vianna def. Sam Alvey via Split Decision
Alexander Shlemenko def. Zelg Galesic via Submission Round 1 (Standing Guillotine Choke)
Brian Rogers def. Victor O’Donnell via TKO Round 1 (Strikes)
Bryan Baker def. Jared Hess via TKO Round 3 (Strikes)