Eddie Alvarez, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States is the first ever lightweight champion of Bellator Fighting Championships. The mixed martial arts promotion held its 12th event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, USA on June 19, 2009.
There were eight MMA bouts on the “Bellator 12” card. All matches were contested under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.
In the main event, Alvarez and Toby Imada, 30, of Los Angeles, California, USA battled it out for the inaugural Bellator Lightweight Championship title. It was the final round of the Bellator Lightweight Tournament.
Jason Herzog served as the referee of the title bout. He stopped the fight after 38 seconds in the second round when Alvarez submitted Imada via rear-naked choke.
The victory improved Alvarez’s professional MMA record to 18 wins and 2 losses. On the other hand, Imada now has 24 wins and 13 losses.
In the quarterfinals of the tournament, Imada submitted Alonzo Martinez and Alvarez submitted Greg Loughran. In the semifinals, Alvarez submitted Eric Reynolds and Imada defeated Jorge Masvidal via technical submission.
At “Bellator 12”, Masvidal fought Reynolds in the lightweight division. The former submitted the latter via rear-naked choke after 3 minutes and 33 seconds in the third round.
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