Alvarez Victorious

Excerpt from sherdog


Eddie Alvarez cruised into the Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight tournament final. Jorge Masvidal was not as fortunate. 


The world-ranked Alvarez (17-2) submitted Eric Reynolds with a third-round rear-naked choke at BFC 4 on Friday at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The electrifying 24-year-old coaxed the tapout 90 seconds into round three. 


Alvarez -- who has rattled of back-to-back submission wins since his defeat to Shinya Aoki on New Year’s Eve -- mounted Reynolds (10-2) multiple times in the first two rounds and built a substantial lead on the scorecards. He latched himself onto his opponent’s back in the third round, flattened him out and cinched the choke. Alvarez has now delivered 15 of his 17 career wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. 


Toby Imada awaits Alvarez in the final. 


Seemingly behind in his semi-final matchup, Imada stunned the favored Masvidal (17-4) with a third-round triangle choke that rendered the American Top Team ace unconscious 3:22 into round three. An 11-year veteran of the sport, Imada (22-12) has won his last eight fights, all of them finishes. 


Dave Herman, Dan Evensen and Matt Jaggers were all victorious in non-tournament action. An EliteXC veteran, the eccentric Herman (14-1) bounced back nicely from his TKO loss to Mu Bae Choi at Sengoku “No Ran 2009” in January, as he stopped Josh Barnes on first-round strikes. 


Bellator returns on May 8 at the Central Pavilion Arena in Robstown, Texas. That show will feature the featherweight tournament semi-finals, pairing Wilson Reis with Joe Sotoand Yahir Reyes with Estevan Payan.