Bellator crowns Season 5 champions at action-packed event

Headlined by a pair of tournament finals, Bellator 57 was poised to be an entertaining card and certainly started out on the right note with five straight finishing performances to open the evening up. Living up to the early fireworks, the main card also featured some competitive clashes as well as one of the most brutal submissions in the organization’s history and a UFC veteran left with his lights out.

A Pre-Fight Look at the Middleweight and Welterweight Finals

On the Season 5 middleweight side of things, Alexander Shlemenko outscored a feisty Vitor Vianna to improve his overall record to 43-7. In addition to a $100,000 payday, the 27-year old also earned an opportunity to face 185-pound title-holder Hector Lombard a second time after both battled it out a year ago with the Cuban champion edging Shlemenko out on the scorecards.

Meanwhile, Douglas Lima lived up to his nickname – “The Phenom” – by stopping apt adversary Ben Saunders with strikes early in the second stanza of their headlining bout. The win was Lima’s ninth straight including victories over Ryan Ford, Terry Martin, and Chris Lozano.

Here is a complete rundown of Bellator 57 results:

Taylor Solomon def. Mike Sledzion via TKO Round 1 (Strikes)
Josh Shockley def. Eric Moon via Submission Round 1 (Guillotine Choke)
Denis Puric def. Chuck Mady via TKO Round 2 (Retirement)
Dave Jansen def. Ashkan Morvari via Submission Round 2 (Rear-Naked Choke)
Matt Van Buren def. Shawn Levesque via Submission Round 1 (Rear-Naked Choke)
Chris Horodecki Majority Draws with Mike Corey
Alexandre Bezerra def. Douglas Evans via Submission Round 1 (Heel Hook)
Roger Hollett def. John Hawk via Split Decision
Alexander Shlemenko def. Vitor Vianna via Unanimous Decision
Douglas Lima def. Ben Saunders via TKO Round 2 (Strikes)

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR