Bellator 118 live and official results

Joe Warren started slowly, ate heavy punches and then relied on his trusty takedowns and top game to win an interim title.

The former champion rallied to beat Rafael Silva, who failed to make weight and wasn’t eligible to claim the interim bantamweight belt, in tonight’s Bellator 117 headliner.

The event took place at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J.

When reigning champion Eduardo Dantas was sidelined this past month with a head injury, Warren was matched up with replacement Silva, and an interim title was created. With a ground-oriented game plan that won him the fight’s later rounds, Warren assured he’ll get the first shot at Dantas upon the Brazilian’s return.

An action-packed first round saw both fighters scoring takedowns and scrambling for position, but Silva took it on the scorecards thanks to an early rear-naked-choke attempt and an uppercut that rocked Warren at the midway mark. However, a clearly staggered Warren wisely forced a takedown and closed out the round with ground and pound from the top.

Although Warren continued looking for takedowns in the second round, his efforts came at a cost as Silva continued tagging him with uppercuts. Even when he got the takedowns, Warren saw his opponent easily get back to his feet and frustrate him.

In the third, though, Warren unloaded a massive right hand. Silva acknowledged it and simply shook it off, but Warren again returned to takedowns, and he soon shifted momentum into his favor. After forcing the fight to the mat, he trapped Silva on his back and ate up some clock with a steady and fairly effective ground-and-pound effort. Aside from a short-lived armbar attempt, Silva had little to offer for the remainder of the round.

As the late rounds continued, Silva simply faded, and Warren’s wrestling and top game took over. Aside from an illegal knee from Warren in the fifth round, the implementation of his game plan continued unimpeded. He closed out the fight in top position to rally for the unanimous-decision win.

The victory came via 48-47 scores across the board.

“I’m so honored to get a second belt here in Bellator,” Warren, a former featherweight champion who’s now the organization’s only two-division titleholder, said after the fight. “I went through war in here to get it.”

Koreshkov lands flying-knee KO

Andrey Koreshkov did what a 25-1 favorite is supposed to do: He steamrolled late replacement Justin Baesman.

With original opponent Sam Oropeza unable to make weight at Thursday’s official ceremony, Koreshkov (16-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) instead fought Baesman (14-5-1 MMA, 0-2-1 BMMA) in the welterweight tournament semifinal bout.

Oddsmakers tapped Koreshkov a massive favorite – and for good reason.

Although Baesman looked game early and fired off shots, Koreshkov patiently stalked and soon found his opening. A stiff shot to the body hurt Baesman, and a subsequent flying knee sent him to the mat and forced a halt to the bout.

The stoppage came at the 1:41 mark of the first round.

“Im very glad I’m in the finals, that I didn’t disappoint my coach, (Bellator champion) Alexander Shlemenko, and my manager,” Koreshkov said through an interpreter. “I did everything my coach told me. He said to go to the body, and I did, and it worked out well.”

Koreshkov, who’s won four straight bouts since a title loss to Ben Askren this past July, now meets undefeated Adam McDonough in the tourney final.

Galvao settles for decision win over Vasquez

It certainly wasn’t the best performance of his career, but Marcos Galvao got the job done against scrappy underdog Thomas Vasquez.

Although Galvao’s previous three wins had come via knockout, his opponent was never in any real danger in the fight. Galvao (16-6-1 MMA, 7-3 BMMA) ultimately earned a unanimous-decision victory over Vasquez (7-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) via 30-27 scores.

Galvao threw his hands early, but the light-footed Vasquez avoided power shots and mixed in some counter-blows to slow his opponent’s advances. Galvao mixed in some takedowns, which helped him win rounds on the judges’ scorecards, but Vasquez often got back to his feet in short order.

With Galvao unwilling to commit to his usual big power punches, he tried to chip away from short range and in the clinch. Vasquez’s jab, as well as threats of his own takedowns, ultimately resulted in tentative striking and some lackluster ground fighting. Not until the third round did Galvao threaten with serious submission attempts, though his repeated rear-naked chokes and neck cranks came up empty.

Galvao has now won three straight since a February 2013 title loss to Eduardo Dantas. Vasquez, meanwhile, suffers his first career loss – to his most accomplished opponent yet.

McGeary lands one-hitter quitter in tourney bout

Liam McGeary punched his ticket to the semifinal round of the Season 10 light heavyweight tournament in familiar fashion.

With the eight-man tourney kicking off a few months early, McGeary (7-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) wasted little time in setting up a summer tourney booking after flattening fellow unbeaten Mike Mucitelli (6-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) with a one-hitter quitter.

After a brief feeling-out process, McGeary uncorked a quick counter left hook that caught Mucitelli flush. After his opponent crashed to the mat, McGeary simply walked away, knowing the victory was secure.

The official stoppage came at the 22-second mark of the opening round.

“I feel awesome,” said the Englishman, who now has seven stoppages (five in the first round) in seven career wins. “I’m ready to carry it on. One down, two to go.”

Official Bellator 118 results include:

MAIN CARD (Spike TV)

• Joe Warren def. Rafael Silva via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) – to win interim bantamweight title
• Andrey Koreshkov def. Justin Baesman via knockout (flying knee) – Round 1, 1:41 – welterweight tournament semifinals
• Marcos Galvao def. Thomas Vasquez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Liam McGeary def. Mike Mucitelli via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:22 “Summer Series” light heavyweight tournament opening round

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com)

• Dante Rivera def. Gemiyale Adkins via majority decision (29-29, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jesus Martinez def. Ryan Contaldi via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
• Tim Woods def. Eugene Fadiora via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Darrion Caldwell def. Joe Pingitore via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:32
• Lester Caslow def. Jay Haas via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:29
• Sidney Outlaw def. Mike Bannon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Kevin Roddy def. Amran Aliyev via (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

For more on Bellator 118, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.