Bellator 41 Results: Warren Wins Controversial Decision, Pitbull & Strauss Advance

(photo courtesy of Bellator)

Bellator Fighting Championships brought its show outdoors for Bellator 41 on Saturday night at Cocopah Casino and Resort in Yuma, Az.

The night saw two Bellator champions earn non-title bout victories with Bellator featherweight champion and self proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” Joe Warren earning a unanimous decision win, Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky capturing his first knockout victory, along with Patricio Pitbull and Daniel Straus punching their tickets to the Bellator featherweight tournament finals with impressive victories.

Warren stepped back into the Bellator cage for the first time since his championship victory at Bellator 27 over Joe Soto as he met the imposing Marcos “Louro” Galvao, who was making his Bellator debut. Warren was the aggressor throughout the fight, but Galvao always seemed to have an answer, and delivered several strong counters to Warren’s advances.

As the third and final round began, sensing he was down, Warren left it all in the cage, and finally connected with solid strikes to the head and ribs of an exhausted Galvao. The fight went to the judges, and in a somewhat controversial decision, Joe Warren stayed undefeated in Bellator with a unanimous decision victory over a stunned Marcos Galvao.

Makovsky was back in action, taking on Chad Robichaux in a bantamweight non-title fight. As expected, submission attempts were on display from both fighters early on, but the fight ultimately saw Zach Makovsky record the first knockout of his career, as the champ hammered Robichaux on the ground before referee Jason Herzog awarded Makovsky the knockout victory.

A featherweight rematch between long time Bellator veteran Wilson Reis and Brazilian striker Patricio “Pitbull” Freire determined which fighter would make it to the finals, and it was evident early both fighters had plans to fight in the finals. With both fighters holding Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelts, Reis and Pitbull spent the early portion of the fight feeling each other out.

As the fight progressed, Pitbull became more aggressive with his strikes, and as the third round was coming to a close, Pitbull delivered a vicious array of blows that ended the fight early giving him another victory and a spot in the Bellator featherweight tournament finals.

In the additional featherweight semifinal fight, Daniel Straus punched his ticket to the finals by delivering a tight Guillotine choke to Kenny “The Tooth Fairy” Foster late in round three. Straus controlled the action throughout the fight, delivering a solid flying knee to Foster in the first, which seemed to shake up the New York native. As the fight moved on, Straus looked for the finish, and eventually found it in the third round, securing a spot in the finals against Pitbull later this season.

Bellator 41 Main Card Results:
Joe Warren def. Marcos Galvao by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Zack Makovsky def. Chad Robichaux by TKO (Unanswered Strikes, Round 3)
Patricio Pitbull def. Wilson Reis by KO (3:29, Round 3)
Daniel Straus def. Kenny Foster by Submission (Guillotine, Round 3)