Bellator 65 LIVE results and play-by-play

ATLANTIC CITY — ProMMAnow.com (www.prommanow.com) is on the scene and cageside at Caesars Boardwalk Hall this evening for Bellator 65. The event features a bantamweight title fight between 135 champ Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky and season five tournament winner Eduardo Dantas.

Also, one of the season six featherweight tournament semifinal bouts will take place, as well as two bantamweight tournament quarterfinal bouts.

For those planning to watch the event at home, the Bellator 65 preliminary card will stream LIVE on Spike.com beginning at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT and the main card will broadcast LIVE on MTV2 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.

Bellator 65 quick results:

MAIN CARD (MTV2)

• Bantamweight Championship Fight: Eduardo Dantas defeats Zack Makovsky by arm triangle submission at 3:26 of Round 2
• Featherweight Tournament Semifinal Fight: Daniel Straus defeats Mike Corey by unanimous decision
• Bantamweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Luis Nogueira defeats Alexis Vila by unanimous decision
• Bantamweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight: Marcos Galvao defeats Ed West by unanimous decision

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com)

• Lightweight Feature Fight: Will Martinez defeats Terrell Hobbs by rear naked choke submission at 4:13 of Round 1
• Middleweight Feature Fight: Duane Bastress defeats Plinio Cruz by TKO at 2:52 of Round 2
• Featherweight Feature Fight: Kenny Foster defeats Jay Haas by guillotine choke at 2:51 of Round 1
• Featherweight feature bout: Scott Heckman defeats Lester Caslow by rear naked choke submission at 3:40 of Round 1
• Welterweight feature bout: Kris McCray defeats Ailton Barbosa by split decision
• Welterweight tourney qualifier: Lyman Good defeats LeVon Maynard by KO at 0:13 of Round 1
• Lightweight local feature bout: E.J. Brooks defeats Mikhail Malyutin by unanimous decision

Bellator 65 play-by-play:

Mikhail Malyutin vs. E.J. Brooks

Round 1 –

Round 2 – Finally here in my seat at Boardwalk Hall and got the WiFi working. Missed the first round, but round two saw a lot of back and forth action, with both fighters getting takedowns and landing on the feet. However, Brooks landed a few more strikes, took Malyutin’s back at one point, and stayed slightly busier. Brooks get the round on our card 10-9.

Round 3 – Malyutin shoots in early for a double and Brooks tries to pick him up powerbomb style. Doesn’t work, but Brooks does throw him down and get top position. He moved into side control and looked for a kimura but couldn’t secure it. Back to the feet and Brooks throws a high kick that misses. Malyutin has the center of the cage but looks a little slower on his feet and fatigued. They clinch up and as they separate, Brooks lands a nice left hand. Same thing a few seconds later and its Malyutin connecting. Round comes to an end with Malyutin catching one of Brooks’s kicks and trying to get a takedown. 10-9 for Brooks.

OFFICIAL RESULT: 30-27 x 2, and 30-26 for E.J. Brooks via unanimous decision

Lyman Good vs. LeVon Maynard

Bout order got switched up and the welterweight tourney qualifier is up next. Someone who shall remain nameless in the media section is loudly cheering for Lyman. Way to keep it professional.

Round 1 – Lyman Good drops Maynard early and pounces. Vicious ground and pound and Maynard is out cold. That was quick.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Lymand Good defeats LeVon Maynard at 0:13 of Round 1 and earns a spot in the next welterweight tournament

Kris McCray vs. Ailton Barbosa

Round 1 – Inside leg kick from McCray with Barbosa circling outside. Both guys try leg strikes and end up in the clinch. Barbosa gets the best of it, pushing him into the cage and getting a takedown with double unders. But McCray pops back up and back in the clinch we go. McCray now controlling position up against the fence and pulls Barbosa’s legs out from under him for a takedown. Nicely done and into side control. Barbosa looking to push his feet off the fence to escape…now hip escapes into full guard. No GNP yet from McCray. Barbosa has him tied up pretty well. Referee Kevin Mulhall calls for some action. None yet. Short punches from McCray. McCray postures up and Barbosa looks for a submission, maybe an omaplata. Not even close but he scrambles and escapes. Barbosa now rolling for a leglock. McCray manages to escape and get back into Barbosa’s full guard. Elbow from the bottom by Barbosa, short punches to the body from McCray. Finally McCray creates some distance and gets a hammerfist down, but I don’t think Barbosa felt that too much. At least it scored some points. Barbosa rolling for an armbar, McCray turns out of it before Barbosa can really go for it. Not the greatest round ever, but McCray edges it out 10-9.

Round 2 – If Barbosa didn’t like being on his back, he shouldn’t have thrown that kick. McCray catches it and we are back where round one left off. Punches to the ribs of Barbosa to keep things looking busy. Mulhall decides to stand them up though. A frenzied stand up exchange, with Barbosa landing some puches and McCray firing back with a knee from a half Thai plum. McCray manages to tie him up and take him down again. Rinse and repeat. Referee stands them up again, deservedly so. Barbosa lands a nice right straight-left hook combo, but overextends himself a bit — maybe from overexcitement of being off of his back — and we got a ground scramble. This thime, though Barbosa spins to the back and tries to get the hooks in. He’s got him and flattens McCray out a bit to look for the choke with 45 seconds left. McCray tries to turn but Barbosa has a nice body triangle. McCray is stuck but survives with his handfighting to avoid the sub. McCray spins to get on top as the round ends, but Barbosa should take that one 10-9.

Round 3 – The final round starts and I am almost out of Diet Dr. Pepper. McCray throws out a leg kick and doesn’t come close. Barbosa looks a bit quicker on the feet. After an exchange on the feet, with Barbosa getting the better of it, the Brazilian shoots in for a takedown and gets in. Fancy-looking roll for an armbar; giving up position so he better get it. He doesn’t. McCray never let Barbosa break his hands apart to really crank it. McCray now in Barbosa’s guard throwing some pitter patter shots. McCray might be tired…his GNP doesn’t have a lot of power. And to make things worse for him, they get stood up. Awesome uppercut landed by Barbosa, followed by a hook. McCray shows a good chin and clinches him up on the cage. Knee from Barbosa. Another to the body. McCray trying to get a single leg takedown, but Barbosa fights it off BJ Penn style by torquing his leg. Now Barbosa is going for a behind the back crucifix. Interesting choice. McCray slips out and gets the top position. Both guys are pretty tired after a tough fight with less than a minute left. Short elbows and hammerfists from McCray, not a ton of steam on them. Barbosa turns his hips and locks on a triangle with ten seconds left. He doesn’t have the right angle, but it’s a good way to finish the round. ProMMAnow.com gives that round and the fight to Barbosa. We’ll see how smart the judges are. McCray didn’t do enough damage, in my opinion, but we’ve seen guys get the win just by being on top more often, haven’t we?

OFFICIAL RESULT: 29-28 for McCray, 29-28 for Barbosa, 29-28 for Kris McCray by split decision

Scott Heckman vs. Lester Caslow

Round 1 – Former UFC fighter in Caslow’s corner, and we’re underway. Heckman ducks under a high kick and gets Caslow down. Caslow trying to get back to his feet and is on his knees, but Heckman is keeping him down with a tight headlock, looking for a choke. Big knees to the body from Heckman. Heckman trying to get a guillotine, but Caslow pops out fast. Heckman, though, gets a nice takedown. Caslow is trying to wall walk, but Heckman isn’t giving him any space to breathe and pulls him back down. Heckman gets to his feet for a second and lands a nice uppercut to Caslow’s face and dives back down to keep things on the mat. Using that headlock to get a d’arce choke. Caslow is fighting, but it’s pretty tight. Not tight enough, though, and Heckman spins to the back. Beautiful transition and he applies the RNC before Caslow can blink. Caslow is forced to tap.

Round 2 –

Round 3 –

OFFICIAL RESULT: Scott Heckman defeats Lester Caslow by submission at 3:40 of Round 1

Televised portion of the card is up next.

Bantamweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight

Ed West vs. Marcos Galvao

Round 1 – West comes in quick with a jab and dances out before Galvao can connect with his 1-2 combo. Inside leg kick by West followed by a head kick with the same leg that connects. Beautiful, but Galvao gets the takedown. West looking for a guillotine but Galvao looks comfortable. Back on the feet with Galvao still tying him up. Galvao takes the back standing but West breaks away and back to the center. High kick from West is blocked, as is a straight right from Galvao. Another head kick attempt by West is countered with a hard right from Galvao that sends West down. He’s stunned but not hurt and defends well. Galvao catches an upkick trying to dive in, but eats it successfully and moves into side control. West shows good defensive ground skills and gets back to his feet, where Galvao throws a nice knee to the body. Again Galvao pressing him up on the fence to slow down the speedy West, but West spins around and after throwing a punch, they’re again out in the middle of the cage trading. Galvao fakes a right and throws a jumping knee that just misses. Nice body kick from West, followed by a 1-2. A West spinning heel kick is more for showmanship. Galvao lands a couple of nice punches in an exchange to end the round. Close one..we’ll give the edge to Galvao, but could fairly go either way.

Round 2 – Now West comes out fast with a three punch combo. A high kick from West is met with a right hook from Galvao. The action slowing a bit and West lands an outside leg kick. Galvao shoots in for the takedown. West looking for another guillotine attempt, It’s pretty tight but Galvao doesn’t look concerned yet. He’s out and West tries to get back to his feet. Double unders for Galvao.  Tries an outside leg trip but almost gets reversed and put on his back. Now West has Galvao’s back to the fence. Trying to throw short punches. They separate and West tries a spinning backfist. It misses. Lead uppercut from West, countered by a tired hook from Galvao. A knee from Galvao and they go back into the clinch. West now has the underhooks but let’s one go to throw a short right hook. West tries to counter a Galvao leg kick with a left hook. Two body kicks from West and Galvao throws a slow wild hook that doesn’t connect. West doing a side karate stance for a moment trying to throw Galvao off his game. They trade leg kicks to end the round. 10-9 for West with Galvao looking a bit tired.

Round 3 – The crowd is now chanting Galvao’s name. Let’s see if that can provide him with some extra energy. Otherwise West could outwork him here. A good exchange early and Galvao shoots in for the takedown. Again West looking for that choke, but Galvao’s grappling skills keep him safe. He gets the takedown and West is turning for a kimura. He gives it up and Galvao looks to land some punches. West goes for an armbar but Galvao pulls the arm out easily. Galvao now into half guard…passes to side now. Knee to the body from Marcos. West manages to get back to full guard. He looks for a gogoplata shoulder lock, which Galvao easily counters but West then rolls out and to his feet. That left hook-straight right combo from Galvao finally lands, and then as West throws a kick, Galvao drops him with a punch. He was off balance most likely, but Galvao is now on top and throwing hammerfists from West’s guard. West is trying to stay busy on his back and get wrist control. Again West escapes but Galvao has double underhooks. West tries to drop down for something…maybe a leg, but thunks his forehead on the mat while Galvao stays tight on him and almost gets the back. West has him on the fence trying to slow things down. Both guys land a shot as they separate. A really fired up crowd cheers as Galvao lands a straight right to close things out. 10-9 for Galvao, but the judges could be all over the place on this one.

OFFICIAL RESULT: 30-27 on all three scorecards for Marcos Galvao

OFFICIAL RESULT:

Bantamweight Tournament Quarterfinal Fight

Alexis Vila vs. Luis Nogueira

Round 1 – Last semifinal spot on the line. They touch glvoes and it is underway. Both guys look light on their feet. Vila still trying to gauge the distance, throws a big left hook that misses. Nogueira looks hesitant so far. Luis throws a left hook followed by a right as he charges in, Vila blocks both.Now the former Olympian looks for a takedown, but Nogueira stops the single-leg attempt. Vila misses wild with a couple of punches, but then throws a left hook that just clips Nogueira on the chin. A bit closer and that would’ve been a huge punch. Nogueira now on the offensive a bit more. Inside legkick from Nogueira, who now has the center of the cage. Nogueira tries to cut off the cage and lands some shots, mostly blocked, then Vila scores with that left hook again, just clipping Nogueira. Outside leg kick from Vila, and both guys staring each other down with a minute left. Nogueira smoothly looks for a takedown after ducking a wild Vila punch and takes the back. Vila is on his knees and trying to keep Nogueira from sinking the hooks in. Vila back to his feet, but Nogueira backs him into the cage and gets a nice throw at the end of the round. Close one, but Nogueira’s late grappling might’ve stolen it 10-9.

Round 2 – Nogueira dancing side to side a lot to start the round. Vila goes for a kick to the body. Nogueira looking like a flat-footed Dominick Cruz. After some dancing, Vila again looks for that lunging left hook. This time it’s blocked easily. Vila almost throws himself off balance swinging for the fences. Vila gets a takedown but they’re back up in a hurry and starting to go after it a bit more on the feet. Again Vila with a takedown but can’t keep Nogueira on the mat long. Nogueira is sitting up and trying to stop Vila from pulling his legs out. Vila has the clinch but Nogueira powers out and gets free. A jab followed by a high kick from Nogueira comes up short,  while Vila throws an overhand right and tries to follow it up with a takedown. No dice. Nice jab from Vila. Now an inside leg kick. Nogueira lands a few with the hands and backs him up, but Vila scores with a right when they get back to the middle. Vila coaxes Nogueira in and tries to duck in for a takedown. Nogueira is down for a second and back up. The round ends with Vila pushing Nogueira on the cage trying to get a double. That round goes to Vila 10-9 but another close one.

Round 3 – As the final round starts, Nogueira’s corner complains about some excess water onVila’s chest. Please no greasing controversy. Now it’s wiped off and we get started. And that is 30 seconds of nothing.Vilatrying to work some leg kicks. Nogueira scores with an inside kick. A high kick from Nogueira gets blocked. Odd sequence withVilashooting for a takedown, stopping, then Nogueira looking to shoot,Vilachanging levels, and Nogueira backs off. Nogueira lands a right hand asVilais off balance, the first real scoring blow of the fight. Again Nogueira has success throwing a punching combo that backs upVila. The crowd is starting to boo a bit with the lulls in action. The short man,Vilatries to land his jab. 90 seconds left and neither guy has taken the bull by the horns here.Vilaworks hard for a single and almost gets it, but Nogueira lands a big hook to the side of the head asVilabacks off. Straight right fromVilafollowed by a half hearted double leg attempt. Nogueira looks to get Vila down now and grabs the front leg.Vilais hopping and balancing on one leg. The round ends like that. Not a pretty round. That one punch by Nogueira might’ve decided it.

OFFICIAL RESULT: 29-28 on all three cards for Luis Nogueira by unanimous decision over Alexis Vila

Featherweight Tournament Semifinal Fight

Daniel Straus vs. Mike Corey

Round 1 – Straus takes the center and lands a nice left hook-right straight that drops Corey. He tries to pounce but Corey is back up. Straus pushing him up on the fence. After a moment, they separate and end up back to the middle. A nice jab-straight left from the southpaw Straus, who then pushes Corey into the fence after they clinch up. Corey gets an underhook and circles to put Straus’s back on the fence. Now it’s Straus’s turn. Nice knee from Straus. Straus dodges a 1-2 from Corey and throws a left right on the button. High kick from Corey is blocked, then Straus throws one that Corey deflects. A kick, jab, straight left combo from Straus followed by a takedown attempt. Corey defends it off the cage with a nice sprawl. Now Corey has Straus’s head. Back to the feet. Straus is winning the strength battle so far. Inside leg kick from Straus lands, than a left uppercut just misses. Straus throws a high kick and loses his balance, but as Corey comes in, Straus nicely with the hands. Corey comes in again and eats a shot, showing a strong chin. 10-9 for Straus.

Round 2 – Both guys did work in the first, but Corey’s face is showing the effects of Straus’s boxing. A straight left-hook from Straus lands, but his follow up takedown is stopped. Now Corey gets a takedown and has Straus down and almost into side control. Straus gets his hips out and looks for his own single leg. The ref stands them up in a stalemate. Jab from Straus lands, while a Corey high kick doesn’t cause trouble. After an exchange they end up in the clinch and Straus again pushes him back into the cage. Corey tries a throw, but Straus counters with that patented hip toss from the whizzer. This is turning into a grindfest. They have a boxing exchange that Corey gets the better of, those most of the punches are blocked. But it gives Corey a chance to put Straus’s back against the fence. Corey ducks for a takedown but it’s stopped. Close round with 45 seconds left. Good punches thrown by both men and Straus almost takes Corey’s back to look for a throw but the round ends. Very close. We’ll call that one a draw, though I’m sure the judges won’t.

Round 3 – Straus comes out connecting early and Corey shoots. Straus defends it and starts trying to take Corey down. Corey’ appears to have blood dripping from his nose. Neither guy can get the other to the mat so far. Straus gets the clinch and moves to Corey’s back. COery looking for wrist control. Back to the middle. Straus lands a kick while Corey follows up with punches. A Straus jab connects. Corey lands a couple, then Straus fires back. Nice straight left from Straus and Corey’s face is getting messy. Corey has the position Straus had earlier, taking the clinch and circling behind trying to get a takedown of some sort. They break and start throwing bombs. Both guys really want it. Straus lost his mouth piece and the ref breaks them up. Back to action and Straus is firing. He shoots for a single and Corey lands some short hammerfists. If it goes by facial damage, Straus won easily. But Corey made things interesting. Giving that round to Straus 10-9, we’ll see what the judges say.

OFFICIAL RESULT: 30-27, and 29-28 on two cards, for Daniel Straus by unanimous decision

Straus pays homage to his teammate, Chris Smith, who recently passed away in a car accident, but then says of his Finals opponent Marlon Sandro, “let’s get after it.”

Bantamweight Championship Fight

Zach Makovsky vs. Eduardo Dantas

Round 1 – Dantas certainly looks like the bigger of the two fighters. Rear push kick from Dantas to start things off. Makovsky goes for a high kick that is blocked. Nice knee from Dudu as Makovsky ducks in just misses. High kick from Dantas is blocked but reverberates around the venue. Vicious body kick from Dantas, Makovsky realizes he needs to get it down and gets the takedown with a sweet leg trip. Dantas spins for an omaplata but Makovsky defends it. Dantas is very active off of his back, again looking for a shoulder lock and tying up Makovsky. Makovsky stands up, passes the legs, and lands a nice punch. They’re back on the feet. Dantas sneaks in a right hand after getting Makovsky to block the left. Makovsky is circling and Dantas is stalking. Good start for the challenger. Dantas sets up a high kick that Makovsky luckily stops with his arm. The champ shoots in and almost gets Dantas down, but not quite, and another high kick from Dantas slaps Makovsky’s forearms. 10-9 round for Dantas.

Round 2 – Round two begins and the techno music stops. Yay for both. Again Dantas is looking to land those kicks, throwing a hard one to the upper body. Makovsky runs in and manages to land a nice lead uppercut and nearly has a takedown when Dantas gets a bit overaggressive, but Dudu gets a reversal and takes the back. Now he’s in the mount as Makovsky tries to roll out. Makovsky gets half guard. Dantas lands a couple of punches but is mainly looking to pass. Credit to the champion for recovering his full guard. Makovsky tries to create a scramble and go for a leg kick, but Dantas stands over Makovsky and land a serious bomb. Now the Brazilian has mount. He holds Makovsky’s head and blasts with him a couple of hard shots. Makovsky nearly ends up in an RNC when giving up his back but is back to the mount. Again Dantas looks for the RNC, prompting Makovsky to roll to his side. Dantas plans one step ahead and holds onto the choke and switches into an arm triangle. A REALLY tight arm triangle. Makovsky passes out and we have a new champion, folks.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Eduardo Dantas defeats Zack Makovsky by submission at 3:26 of Round 2 to become the new Bellator bantamweight champion.

Plinio Cruz vs. Duane Bastress

Round 1 – They trade on the feet for a bit, then Bastress manages to get Cruz to the mat and land some blows while Cruz is turtled up. Cruz gets out of it but Bastress gets back on top and lands some punches with Cruz pushed up to the fence. Cruz tries to escape with a single leg, but Cruz sprawls and again ends up on top. Eventually they end up back on the feet. After some circling, Bastress throws a wild hook and shoots in for a takedown. Nice elbow from Bastress. Cruz’s guard is a bit loose, but he throws up his legs to try and escape. Bastress stays on top and scores with hammerfists as the round ends. 10-9 for Bastress

Round 2 – Right as Bastress ducks down to shoot in, Cruz scores with a nice knee. Bastress manages to absorb it and dive in for the takedown. He eats some hammerfists while Cruz scrambles, but Bastress is relentless. While they’re on the ground with Cruz down on his side, Bastress lands an illegal knee to the head. Looked like he was aiming for the chest, but Cruz pointed out the strike to the ref. Cruz lands some strikes on the feet, but Bastress ties him up and looks to get it back to the mat, which he does. Cruz hit the mat pretty hard, and Bastress started landing shots and elbows; they looked like they were to the back of the head. The ref stops in to stop the fight, looks like it’s being called a TKO.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Duane Bastress wins by TKO at 2:52 of Round 2

Terrell Hobbs vs. Will Martinez

Round 1 – Martinez comes in with his head straight up. We’ll see if Hobbs can make him pay for that. He almost does with a 1-2 about 45 seconds in. Right hand from Martinez backs up Hobbs a bit. Outside leg kick from Martinez lands. Now an inside version. Back to the outside. Following a combo, Hobbs acting like maybe he took a finger to the eye, but things keep going. Martinez takes advantage and closes the distance and gets a takedown. Hobbs is trying to stand up by the cage while Martinez looks to pass to mount. Martinez looks for the guillotine from the top and rolls, but Hobbs gets out pretty easy. In the scramble, Hobbs gets his back and almost has an RNC sunk in, but Martinez breaks his hands apart. Martinez almost immediately gets Hobbs’ back and sinks in the RNC, flattens out Hobbs, and gets the tap. Martinez’ local support loves it.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Martinez wins by submission at 4:13 of Round 1

Kenny Foster vs. Jay Haas

Round 1 – High kick from Haas misses. Still in a feeling out period about a minute in. Haas connects with a high kick, but Foster moves into it and gets the takedown. However, he doesn’t decide to go to the ground and Haas hops back up. A flurry of punches almost had Foster in trouble, but he circles away from the fence. A big power shot from Foster misses as Haas ducks in looking for a tkaedown. Foster fights that off. Haas with a nice overhand right to high kick combo. So far Haas looks better on the feet. Outside leg kick from Haas. Haas almost eats a knee from Foster during an exchange. Now backed up to the cage, Foster lands a big knee, drops him, and gets the choke.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Foster wins at 2:51 of Round 1 by submission