EDDIE ALVAREZ BEATS ROGER HUERTA AT BELLATOR 33

Bellator 33 in Philadelphia featured a special non-title Super Fight between Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez and UFC veteran Roger “El Matador” Huerta. Also on the card was a Bellator World Title Fight between reigning champ Lyman Good and Season 2 Welterweight Tournament Champ Ben Askren.

Bellator Lightweight Champion and hometown hero Eddie Alvarez took on former UFC fighter Roger “El Matador” Huerta in a non-title Super Fight. With Philadelphia fight fans on their feet the two took the center of the cage looking to bang with chants of “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie,” echoing throughout the arena.

“Definitely a success tonight, everything I could have dreamed of went exactly according to plan. Everything went perfectly I couldn’t be more happy,” said Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez.

The champ found his range early with powerful shots that hurt Huerta in the first round. The high octane action continued throughout the round with Alvarez buckling Huerta against the cage with heavy shots; however, Huerta was able to recover and employ some effective counter punching that kept the crowd on their fight. The two fighters traded kicks early in the second round with Alvarez becoming the aggressor yet again, taking the center of the cage and backing Huerta down.

The champ consistently found openings for his upper cut and lead straight right that Huerta did not seem to have an answer for. At the end of the 2nd round it appeared that Huerta had sustained an injury, this was confirmed when the referee waved off the third round, giving Alvarez a TKO victory, much to the delight of the fans in attendance. Hailing from New York, the powerful undefeated Bellator World Welterweight Champion Lyman Good found himself with a largely hometown crowd behind him in his title fight against Bellator Season 2 Welterweight Champion Ben Askren.

Askren, a former Olympian who is widely regarded as one of the most talented wrestlers to transition to MMA, took the champ down within the first ten seconds of the fight. Good looked to methodically improve his position throughout the first round with brief stints on the feet only to be taken back to the ground by Askren. Askren mounted Good easily in the second and third rounds, and the defending champion was unable to defend against Askren’s superior wrestling. The referee stood the two fighters up briefly in the fourth round, which saw exchanges from each fighter, but ended with Good on his back yet again.

Late in the fifth round Good found a home for a devastating upkick that caught Askren directly on the chin stunning him briefly and giving Good the opportunity to grab an arm and sink in a deep triangle/armbar; however, with the heart of a champion Askren regained his composure and ended the 25 minute fight in the full mount position. The tremendous effort by Askren resulted in a passing of the torch in the Bellator Welterweight Division and crowned him the new undisputed Bellator World Welterweight Champion. “I’m glad people got a chance to see my heart. I’m pretty happy with my performance. I told people I was ready to five and that’s what I did,” said Askren. “I’ve only been punching things for about a year, so I have a lot of room for improvement.”

Earlier in the evening Former Olympic Judoka Rick Hawn battled powerful striker LeVon Maynard. Both fighters were cautious early, feeling out each other’s power and range.

However, after a failed trip attempt by Maynard, Hawn found his opponent in position for a perfectly executed Judo toss, which he executed beautifully, following it up with powerful hammer fists that put an end to the fight. The referee stoppage occurred at 4:53 of the first round. Also on the main card was Brazilian submission specialist Wilson Reis taking on dangerous WEC veteran Deividas Taurosevicius. In the back and forth fight, both fighters found comfort on their feet but it was Reis who proved to be the more aggressive fighter, ultimately awarding him a Split Decision victory.

ROGER HUERTA VS. EDDIE ALVAREZ AT BELLATOR 33

Bellator Fighting Championships officially announced today that the promotion will make its debut in Pennsylvania when Philadelphia native and Bellator Lightweight World Champion Eddie Alvarez (20-2) squares off against former UFC Star  Roger “El Matador” Huerta (24-4-1) in one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year.

“Bellator 33: Alvarez vs. Huerta” is set to take place from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 21st.

For explosive Bellator World Champion Eddie Alvarez, momentum is on his side, as he enters the Superfight with an impressive five-fight win streak on the line where the longtime knockout artist has finished all of his most recent victims by submission. In his most recent trip to the cage, Alvarez put rugged UFC veteran Josh “The Dentist” Neer to sleep with a nasty rear-naked choke during Bellator 17 in Boston on May 6th of this year.

Alvarez is admittedly excited about the opportunity to compete in front of his hometown fans in Philly for the first time in the top lightweight’s career that currently spans 22 professional fights, from Japan to Boston, against many of the toughest 155 lb fighters in the business.

“Roger Huerta, Philadelphia, October 21st… this is a dream fight for me,” said Alvarez. “I’ve never even lost a fight here in the United States, so I’m definitely not going to start in my hometown of Philadelphia with all of my people there. That’s not going to happen. Not a chance.

“I’m not going to be happy unless I completely control and dominate Roger in this fight. It’s important for me to go in there and dominate this fight and prove that I’m one of the best lightweights in the world.”

In the case of Roger Huerta, the electrifying 27 year old lightweight is eager to return to the cage after suffering a defeat in his previous outing when Pat Curran shocked the MMA world and defeated “El Matador” by unanimous decision in the semifinal lightweight tournament at Bellator 17. As the first MMA fighter ever to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Eddie Alvarez will be the toughest fights that Huerta has encountered is his MMA career.

Although fighting in Alvarez’ backyard of Philadelphia, Huerta expects for the advantage to ultimately lie in his favor, stating, “The cheers or jeers won’t affect me one way or the other. The pressure is on him fighting in his hometown. He’s going to bring the best out of me. The best. It’s going to be scary.

“This is a fight that I’ve always wanted. It’s a dream come true. It’s going to be a grueling fight for the both of us. It’s going to be a potential fight of the year. I’m going in there expecting a war, and I’m going in there trying to finish Eddie.”

Intending to send a direct message to his critics and fans alike in his upcoming  performance against Huerta, Alvarez would be the first to admit that he’s had the former Sports Illustrated cover athlete in his sites since the moment Huerta signed his contract with Bellator.

“I don’t care where you fought in the past, but if you come to my promotion and you have a big name and you’re obviously marketable, and the promotion signs you, I’m going to have an issue with that,” said Alvarez. “If I don’t feel threatened by that, then I’m an idiot. I feel threatened by someone like Roger trying to move into my house and I’m going to do everything I can to protect what’s mine and get him out of there. I want to keep all eyes on me. I’m going to go out there and do my job and get him out of there.”

Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney was admittedly excited to bring this incredible Superfight to Philadelphia, stating, “The Alvarez-Huerta fight should be one of the most  electrifying bouts in the history of Bellator Fighting Championships, and to be able to host it in one of the greatest fights towns on earth, Philadelphia is spectacular. . I’ve said it before, I believe Eddie Alvarez is the best Lightweight Mixed Martial Artist in the world today and for Roger to have the courage to face him speaks volumes about his confidence and character.  The fans are really in for a treat with not only a great fight card, but also a fantastic host venue in The Liacouras Center.”

The Liacouras Center is located on the campus of Temple University, in the heart of Philadelphia, and is home to the Temple Owl’s Basketball and Volleyball, as well as Professional Indoor Soccer. The Liacouras Center was opened in 1997, and has a capacity of just over 10,000.

Tickets for “Bellator 33: Alvarez vs. Huerta” are priced at $150, $85, $65, $45, and $25, and go on sale Monday, August 30^th at www.ComcastTix.com

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

PAT CURRAN DEFEATS ROGER HUERTA

Local fighter Pat Curran shocked the MMA world by pulling an upset victory over UFC vet Roger Huerta at Bellator XVII.

From Bellator.com:

BOSTON, Mass. (May 6, 2010) – Pat Curran, the 22-year-old descendant of MMA royalty pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in recent memory Thursday night with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over former UFC standout and Bellator Lightweight Tournament favorite Roger Huerta at Bellator 17 in Boston.

Curran’s stunning victory, which quickly set the MMA world abuzz, served to highlight Bellator’s first-of-its-kind tournament-style format, which has also given rise to several other decided underdogs since its inception last year.

“It was a tremendous night for Pat and a tremendous testament to our tournament format,” Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said afterward. “This was proof of our concept and exactly what I hoped this organization could provide to fighters. I wanted great fighters to have the opportunity to fight other great fighters where nothing but their performance would dictate their future … an organization where it made no difference if a fighter was world-famous or simply had world class ability. Pat Curran took huge advantage of this opportunity tonight and deserves everything he’s receiving.”

The first nationally-televised MMA event in Boston history also witnessed a spectacular “Super Fight” victory by reigning Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez while reigning “Submission of the Year” title holder Toby Imada punched his ticket to this year’s finals.

But the night undoubtedly belonged to Curran who improved his pro record to 11-3 and took a huge step out of the shadow of his cousin and longtime trainer, MMA legend Jeff “The Big Frog” Curran.
Curran and Huerta traded blows for 15 minutes in a stirring tactical standup fight that brought a raucous crowd at the 85-year-old Wang Theatre to its feet. As the decision was announced, Huerta hung his head in disbelief, saying afterward that “it was just one of those nights.”

“I take my hat off to Pat Curran,” said Huerta, who fell to 21-4. “I started out pretty flat and he capitalized. Ultimately, it’s my fault for leaving it up to the judges. It’s really tough for me to swallow, but now I just need to regroup and look to the future.”

Curran, for his part, credited his coaching and thanked Rebney for the opportunity to fight in the tournament and make a name for himself.

“It was an honor to fight Roger,” an emotional and visibly exhausted Curran told Bellator ring announcer Jimmy Smith immediately after the fight. “I just tried to keep my hands clean and went for the straight right … I was trying to counter and land my shots. I’m looking forward to getting back to the gym as soon as possible and getting to work on my ground game and preparing for Toby Imada.”

ROGER HUERTA BELLATOR PRESS CONFERENCE

Roger Huerta has signed with Bellator and met the media to talk about his decision. Here is the press conference.