Partial Credit goes to Dana Becker.
Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino tasted defeat for the first time in nearly 10 years, after dropping a unanimous decision to Jorina Baars in the muay Thai main event of last night’s Lion Fight 14 event.
“Logical and everyone gets sad when he loses! But I love my job, I love to fight the fight took Jorina’s I do not choose opponent,” Justino wrote on her Facebook after the loss. “I’m ready for any battle! Victory and defeat is consequence! Certainly learned a lot from that fight. So I have to thank God and all my fans who support me. I can not control victory or defeat but I can try to make the best fight of the night.”
– Georges St-Pierre’s confirmation that he suffered a torn ACL in training hit UFC president Dana White pretty hard. White had previously stated he believed a return to action would come sooner – rather than later – for the former UFC welterweight champion.
“I didn’t think his hiatus was going to be that long,” said White, during an interview with the LA Times. “That’s one of the risks you run when you get away from the sport like that. You have a small window as a professional athlete to make what you can. The guy gave up his belt, walked away from the sport and now he’s out for who knows how long.”
White pointed out that St-Pierre’s previous knee injury, which happened to the opposite knee of this one, kept him out for over a year. GSP returned and defeated Carlos Condit to unify the belts, successfully defending it against both Nick Diaz and current champ Johny Hendricks.
– Fresh off a tough decision loss for the UFC welterweight title, Robbie Lawler will jump right back into the Octagon this May. Lawler has agreed to face Jake Ellenberger at UFC 173.
Ellenberger (29-7) was originally set to meet former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine at April’s UFC 172, but an injury has forced Saffiedine out. Ellenberger is 8-2 in his last 10 overall, including a recent knockout of Nate Marquardt.
Lawler (22-10) was bested by Hendricks recently in a bout to determine the new 170-pound champion. “Ruthless” had won his last three, including victories over Josh Koscheck and Rory MacDonald, to work his way into the championship match.
Other UFC 173 bouts include Renan Barao defending his bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw and heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic squaring off.
– Bellator 114 took place Friday night on Spike TV and featured Alexander Shlemenko earning his 50th career victory with a submission win over Brennan Ward. Shlemenko retained his middleweight title with the win, which was his 13th straight.
In other action, Daniel Weichel and Desmond Green each picked up victories in the season 10 featherweight tournament, advancing to face each other in the finals. Brett Cooper scored a TKO over UFC veteran Kendall Grove in the middleweight tourney semifinal.
Below is a list of complete results:
Alexander Shlemenko def. Brennan Ward via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:22 of Round 2 to defend Bellator middleweight title
Daniel Weichel def. Matt Bessette via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) to advance to featherweight tournament final
Desmond Green def. Will Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) to advance to featherweight tournament final
Brett Cooper def. Kendall Grove via TKO (strikes) at 3:33 of Round 2 to advance to middleweight tournament final
Rad Martinez def. Edson Berto via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Justin Wilcox def. Jason Fischer via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bubba Jenkins def. Sean Powers via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Linton Vassell def. Trevor Carlson via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:54 of Round 2
Gavin Sterritt def. Mike Estus via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:29 of Round 1
Joe Rodriguez def. Eric Wahlin via submission (arm triangle choke) at 2:06 of Round 2
