Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard retains his belt after a hard-fought battle with Russian kickboxer Alex Shlemenko. (Photo courtesty of Bellator)
The final event of Bellator’s third season concluded at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida with two title fights. Bellator champion (27-2) “Shango” Hector Lombard took on Russian knockout artist “The Storm” Alexander Shlemenko (29-4) for the middleweight belt, and the world’s pound-for-pound best female fighter “Mega Megu” Megumi Fujii (22-1) went up against striking sensation “The Warrior Princess” Zoila Frausto (10-1) to crown the first Women’s 115lb. Champion. The dangerous striker and multiple-time Cuban Judo Champion Hector Lombard was expected by many to don his usual style of vicious striking and finish his opponent within the first round, whereas Fujii/Frausto was anticipated to be a showcase in the war of disciplines: striker vs. grappler. Both Fujii and Lombard were favorites in the title fights. However, only Lombard would deliver, but not with the expected results. “Mega Megu” put on a world class performance but in the end became just another name on the list of Japanese superstars to fall in the American MMA arena. Continue reading »
