Bellator 24: Grappler Girls Advance, Lombard & Grove Score Quick KO's

Hector Lombard made quick work of his opponent once again when he dispatched of the for NFL player Herbert "Whisper" Goodman in just 38 seconds scoring another ferocious knockout. Lombard looks to defend his Bellator Middleweight title when he taked on the tournament winner Alexander Shlemenko in his first title defense.

Megumi Fugii showed her grappling prowess as she submitted the unheralded late replacement Carla Esparza. Esparza did surprisingly well in the first stanza, although she still lost the round in my eyes, but succumbed to a beautifully executed arm-bar as soon as the fight his the floor in the second. Jessica Aguilar also subbed her opponent, a striker, with an arm triangle choke with under a minute left in the first. These two grappling aces go on to the second round of the 115LB Women's tournament.

Eddie Sanchez looked to play comeback kid once again as he was dropped early by Neil Grove, but he was too far gone to come back from the heavy hands of "The Goliath". Grove pummeled Sanchez and after Sanchez was once again stood up when Grove let him he was slow to recover and the ref had seen enough. Grove is the first to ascend into the second round of the heavyweight tournament.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Jessica Aguilar def. Lynn Alvarez via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 1, 4:01
Hector Lombard def. Herbert Goodman via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:38
Megumi Fujii def. Carla Esparza via submission (armbar) - Round 2, 0:57
Neil Grove def. Eddie Sanchez via TKO (referee stoppage) - Round 1, 1:32
PRELIMINARY CARD
Frankhad Sharipov def. Eric Luke via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)*
Yves Edwards def. Luis Palomino via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)*
Tulio Quintanilla def. Brian Eckstein via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 2:48

Bellator 24 Preview

Bellator's third season opener tonight has some interesting match-ups to start the season out right. The main event of Hector Lombard vs. Herbert Goodman seems more a stay-busy type of fight for their Middleweight kingpin, but it will be good to see him in action non the less.

The first round of the Bellator 115LB women's tournament begins this evening featuring Megumi Fujii Vs. Carla Esparza and Jessica Aguilar Vs. Lynn Alvarez. In the last Bellator event to showcase female mixed martial arts had one of the most devastating KO's to grace the women's MMA stage as Zoila Frausto sent Rosi Sexton to the next dimension in the first round.

Bellator 24 also features a Heavyweight attraction as the British Cage Rage vet Neil Grove goes head to head with the resurgent Eddie Sanchez. Again, not a bout that means much in the larger picture of the division but entertaining none the less.

Check your local listings on FSN for Bellator air times in your area.

Bellator Fighting Championships 24
Thursday, Aug. 12
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, Fla.

Hector Lombard (185.5) vs. Herbert Goodman (183.5)
Neil Grove (264.5) vs. Eddie Sanchez (244.5)
Megumi Fujii (115.5) vs. Carla Esparza (115.25)
Jessica Aguilar (113.5) vs. Lynn Alvarez (114.5)
Yves Edwards (154.5) vs. Luis Palomino (154.5)
Eric Luke (145) vs. Farkhard Sharipov (144)
Brian Eckstein (135) vs. Tulio Quintanilla (135.5)

Bellator 24: Carla Esparza Officially Replaces Angela Magana on Bellator 24 Card - Bellator Fighting Championships

Breaking Carla Esparza Officially Replaces Angela Magana on Bellator 24 Card - Bellator Fighting Championships


CHICAGO, Ill. (August 10, 2010) - Bellator Fighting Championships today confirmed that Angela Magana has suffered a stress fracture to her right big toe that has subsequently forced her out of her scheduled Bellator 24 match-up with Megumi Fujii (20-0). Magana's injury has provided an opening for undefeated Two-Time NCAA All American wrestler Carla Esparza (3-0) to step up to the challenge and face the World's #1 female fighter at Bellator 24 in the Season 3 Women's Tournament kicking off on August 12th at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Esparza, the former two-time NCAA All American wrestler out of Menlo College in Atherton, California. A product of the highly touted Team Oyama is coming off of an impressive performance in her third professional fight against Strikeforce veteran Lacey Schuckman less than a month ago. Esparza secured a fight-ending rear-naked choke halfway through the second round.

"Angela's unfortunate injury provides a spectacular opportunity for Carla. The two time All - American Wrestler has been working intensively with Team Oyama and now she has the opportunity to shock the world of women's MMA.," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "I have great respect for Carla's willingness to step up on short notice to face Megumi Fujii. She comes into this fight with a pure fighters attitude, she's not here to survive, she's coming here to win.

Fujii is widely regarded as the No.1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world. She was trained in MMA by Shooto veteran Hiroyuki Abe and top heavyweight Josh Barnett and is known for her quick takedowns and skilled submissions. In fact, 16 of the 20 Japanese MMA sensation's wins have come via submission.

However, Esparza plans on countering with her wrestling ability.

"I definitely think my wrestling is going to play a huge factor in this fight with Fujii," said Esparza. "I don't think she's ever encountered a wrestler that has my striking ability. It's not going to be a grappling match. She's going to have to worry about my wrestling and my striking."

"If I wasn't in shape and ready for this fight I wouldn't have taken it. With just three days notice I'm not going to be as prepared as I'd like to be, but I'm not going in there to survive for three rounds - I'm going in there to win."

The two fighters join an impressive crop of female fighters competing in the Bellator Season 3 Women's Tournament with 7-1 knockout artist Zoila Frausto, 12-5 Seattle submission specialist Lisa Ward, 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene, 5-1 Las Vegas-based powerhouse Lynn "Lights Out" Alvarez, 9-0 Irish sensation Aisling Daly and 8-4 American Top Team product Jessica Aguilar.

Additionally, in a late undercard switch up, Farakhad Sharipov (11-3) replaces Chino Duran and takes on Eric Luke in a featherweight contest.

Tickets for the event - which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights - are on sale now at ticketmaster.com


For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.