Bellator 63 Recap and Results: Fan’s Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

On March 30, Bellator Fighting Championships presented Bellator 63 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The event saw the quarterfinals of the season six welterweight tournament.

Raul Amaya vs. Ben Saunders

The opening fight on the MTV2 telecast saw the undefeated Amaya (9-0) battle UFC veteran, Saunders (12-4-2). Amaya is a dangerous submission fighter, while Saunders uses kickboxing and muay thai to win fights.

The fight got off to a quick start with Amaya ducking a head kick and grabbing onto Saunders' back. He worked towards a takedown, but was unsuccessful. Saunders was able to land a couple huge knees to Amaya and went for a Kimura, which set him up with great position on the mat. Saunders kept Amaya working at submission defense for the final two minutes of the round.

In the second round, Amaya saw himself in the top position often, but Saunders continued to attempt submission after submission, constantly keeping his opponent moving. The third round began with Saunders in full mount, where he attempted to get a submission instead of using strikes, and eventually lost the position. Amaya ended up in full mount, where he dropped countless shots, but still wound up on his back. With less than two minutes left, Saunders finally began striking from a good top position and it appeared that the referee was getting close to stopping the fight. He didn't stop it and it ended with Saunders working towards a rear-naked choke as the bell sounded.

Official Decision: Ben Saunders via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

David Rickels vs. Jordan Smith

This fight pitted the 9-0 Rickels against the 17-2-1 Smith. Both men like to stand up and bang, which meant this fight was likely to end with excitement.

Less than 30 seconds into the fight, it ended with said excitement. Both men came straight forward, but it ended with Rickels gaining the edge with the TKO victory.

Carlos Pereira vs. Bryan Baker

Baker was one of the toughest fighters in the promotion at middleweight, but this was his welterweight debut. His opponent, Pereira had the most experience of any fighter in the tournament with a 33-9-1 record.

The opening round saw a stalemate between the two fighters, with Baker not being able to find a way to use his size as an advantage. In the second round, the two fighters left the fans at Mohegan Sun wanting to see more action. Baker was drastically slower in the round, showing that he may be struggling with the weight cut. The third round saw the same pace as the first two, with the most exciting action happening in the final 15 seconds when Baker ended up in the crucifix position.

Official Decision: Bryan Baker via Split-Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Chris Lozano vs. Karl Amoussou

The main event of the night saw the 9-2 Lozano battle the 13-4-2 Amoussou. Lozano has been an explosive fighter during his career, earning first round knockouts in five fights. Amoussou is the same type fighter, but he attempts to use his mouth to get in the head of his opponents, something that may have happened prior to this fight.

In the first minute of the fight, maybe three strikes were thrown, prompting more boos from the Connecticut crowd. Amoussou went for a head kick and connected, but Lozano caught the leg and took him down. On his back Amoussou performed a beautiful sweep into the full mount. From there, Amoussou worked towards the rear-naked choke and got the win. He may be the fighter to beat in this tournament.

For a look at the best fights for some of the most popular fighters in the UFC and 2011 division recaps, go here.

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Hobson Lopes has been a fan of mixed martial arts since the days of Tank Abbott and can be followed on Twitter @HobsonLopes.

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