While Bryan Baker came up short in Bellator Fighting Championship's season-two middleweight tournament, he returned to the winner's circle with a decision win over UFC veteran and MMA ironman Jeremy Horn. The middleweight contest served as the featured bout in Thursday's Bellator 30 event, which took place at Fourth Street Live! in Louisville, Ky., and aired on FOX Sports Net.
The inspirational Baker, whose battle with leukemia has been well-publicized in recent weeks, battled back from some early trouble in his bout with Horn, as well, before taking control of the contest for the final two frames.
The fight offered few highlight-reel moments and instead turned into a grinding affair. Horn started strong with a takedown and a guillotine choke attempt, but Baker survived the attacks and actually landed a few strikes to close the frame.
But Horn looked lethargic in the remaining two frames, and Baker capitalized. "The Beast" threatened with a triangle choke-armbar combination in the second, though Horn was able to escape. But Horn's counterattack was feeble in response, and Baker easily shucked off his foe's takedown attempts.
With the fight seemingly in the balance in the final frame, Baker looked a touch better on the feet throughout. Horn was slow to attack, and when he did, he walked directly into Baker's strikes. At the final bell, Baker raised his hands in anticipation of what was to come: a unanimous-decision nod.
Baker has now won eight of his past nine fights, with the lone loss coming to tournament winner Alexander Shlemenko in season two's final fight. After surviving a life-threatening illness and beating an MMA legend, Baker (14-2 MMA, 4-1 BFC) Baker offered what might be considered an understatement.
"I feel great," Baker said.
Meanwhile, Horn (86-20-5 MMA, 0-1 BFC) sees a six-fight win streak snapped in Bellator debut.
When Ulysses Gomez was forced to bow out of Bellator's bantamweight bracket due to a staph infection, Bryan Goldsby was given a second chance to post a tournament win. Unfortunately for him, Zach Makovsky had different plans.
Makovsky used a dynamic blend of wrestling and jiu-jitsu to frustrate Goldsby throughout the contest while claiming a clear-cut unanimous-decision win.
Goldsby showed capable defense as he defended a rear-naked choke in the second frame, and he was often able to push Makovsky away momentarily, but "Fun Size" proved relentless throughout and left little doubt as to the final result despite being unable to finish the fight in regulation.
In the end, one judge awarded Makovsky all three rounds, while he was awarded 29-28 scores on the remaining two cards and booked his spot in the 135-pound tourney finals.
Makvosky (11-2 MMA, 3-0 BFC) carries a five-fight win streak into the final contest. Despite a game effort, Goldsby (12-13 MMA, 1-2 BFC) falls to just 2-5 in his past seven outings.
The evening's first televised contest saw slick submission artist Ed West use a stifling ground attack to keep the powerful Jose Vega on defends for most of the opening two rounds en route to claiming his spot in Bealltor's bantamweight tournament final.
While Vega is perhaps best known for his stunning June knockout of Jarrod Card, the Missouri resident is an accomplished grappler in his own right, and he showed ample defensive knowledge while fighting off a dizzying array of submission attempts. Vega found himself in top position throughout most of the first two frames, but he was unable to attack while focusing on fighting off a triangle choke, kimura and rear-naked choke, among others.
The third frame was Vega's best, as he kept the fight standing throughout. But he was unable to capitalize with a knockout blow and left the fight in the judges' hands. Two of the three ruled in favor of West, who took home the split-decision win.
Following the win, West admitted he was impressed with Vega's efforts.
"It was way tougher than I expected," West said. "That guy's got really good takedowns and really good top position."
Following an unsuccessful three-fight stint in the now-defunct International Fight League, West (15-4 MMA, 2-0 BFC) now has seven straight victories.
"I'm thrilled," West said. "I'm just glad I'm [in the finals], and I'm going to fight my heart out."
Meanwhile, Vega (9-4 MMA, 1-2 BFC) sees a two-fight win streak snapped with his first loss under the Bellator banner.
OFFICIAL MAIN CARD RESULTS Brent Weedman def. Jacob McClintock via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 3:05*Bryan Baker def. Jeremy Horn via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)Zach Makovsky def. Bryan Goldsby via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)Ed West def. Jose Vega via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS Thomas "T.J." Barber vs. B.J. Ferguson* John Troyer def. Josh Clark via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)*Ron Sparks def. Greg Maynard via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 0:50* Jeremiah Riggs def. Mike Fleniken via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)Mike O'Donnell def. Stoney Hale via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 0:50* - Bout took place following main event
For more on Bellator 30, check out the MMA Events section of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
(Pictured: Bryan Baker and Jeremy Horn)
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