Lake Charles, LA (September 30, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships made its first trip to Lake Charles, LA tonight with Bellator 31.
A sellout crowd at the L’Auberge du Lac Resort enjoyed an exciting night of fights highlighted by two Season 3 Women’s semifinal matchups with the #1 ranked pound-for-pound female fighter in the world Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii taking on dangerous veteran Lisa Ward and explosive striker Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto facing submission specialist Jessica “Jag” Aguilar.
Also on the card was a Bellator Season 4 Welterweight Tournament Qualifying fight between undefeated knockout artist Chris “The Assassin” Lozano and dangerous UFC veteran Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida.
It was Frausto and Aguilar who kicked off the Women’s semifinal action, with “The Warrior Princess” establishing herself as the more aggressive fighter at the sound of the opening bell. As the fight progressed, Frausto made use of her devastating leg kicks to gain the advantage, before Aguilar begain to gain momentum on the feet in the third and final round. After three back-and-forth rounds of action, it was Frausto who picked up the hard-fought split decision victory and a spot in the Women’s Final match set to take place in Florida on October 28.
“Jessica was incredibly tough tonight, but I thought I did really well,” said Frausto. “I’m just really excited to fight in the Finals.”
In the night’s second Women’s semifinal of the evening, it was Fujii pushing the action early against Ward, cautiously looking for an opening. As Ward recovered from an early first round takedown, Fujii attacked and locked Ward up in a fight ending armbar submission that forced the tap. The impressive victory kept Fujii’s perfect record intact, which gave her a new MMA record, and more importantly punched her ticket to the Bellator Women’s Final.
“Now I get to go back to Japan and rest up,” said an excited Fujii. “For the championship fight against Zoila, I’m really going to focus on my striking ability, and come back to the States strong and try and win the Bellator Championship.”
In Welterweight action Chris “The Assassin” Lozano faced former UFC fighter and dangerous Judo black belt Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida. Lozano took control early in the fight, delivering a spinning elbow to the ribs of Yoshida that sent him to the canvas. “The Assassin” picked up where he left off in the second round, where a hard right hand caused Yoshida’s eye to swell almost completely shut, and forced the stoppage at the conclusion of the round.
“We saw some great fights tonight, including a razor thin decision that went Zoila’s way,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This facility was great, and we really enjoyed ourselves here at L’Auberge du Lac Resort, and would love to come back.”
Main Card Results
- Chris Lozano def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
- Zoila Frausto def. Jessica Aguilar via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 30-27)
- Megumi Fujii def. Lisa Ward via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:39
In Local Feature Fight Action:
- Mike Chandler def. Scott Stapp via TKO – Round 1, 1:57
- Dave Herman def. Michal Kita via Omoplata Submission – Round 1, 3:16
- Mark Holata def. Shawn Jordan via KO – Round 1, 1:13
- Tim Ruberg def. Aaron Davis via Rear Naked Choke Submission – Round 2, 1:44
- John Harris def. Kyle Miers via Rear Naked Choke Submission – Round 2, 0:49