Bellator made its biggest and boldest move as a mixed martial arts promotion by coming to New York City for the first time and putting 12,133 fans in The Garden. It is the biggest venue they’ve ever been in, had three title fights, Fedor Emelianenko and oh yeah, it’s on pay-per-view. They pulled out all the stops to make sure that the event felt historic and grand. In return, it actually accomplished that very difficult task.

“This is the premier event that I think I’ve ever promoted, ever,” said Scott Coker, who used to promote Strikeforce and K-1 events before taking over as Bellator CEO three years ago. “Usually, it’s one big name and then we have some undercard fights.”

Coker has rebranded Bellator as a legitimate destination for fighters and a viable No. 2 promotion behind the UFC. Several former UFC fighters have signed with Bellator in the past three years, including former lightweight champion Benson Henderson, Phil Davis, Rory MacDonald, Lorenz Larkin, Ryan Bader and Roy Nelson.

Chael Sonnen (Photo by Gregory Payan – AP Photo)

Sonnen Bested Silva In The  Main Event

Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva put on a fight more entertaining than expected, ending in a unanimous decision win for Sonnen. It was a good main event with tons of build up. A lot of fans didn’t see this fight going the distance.

Mitrione Knocked Out Feder In Co Main Event 

Fedor Emelianenko is considered by most to be the best heavyweight MMA fighter of all time. The longtime Pride Heavyweight Champion is excellent at exploiting opponents’ weaknesses, but father time is undefeated. 

Mitrione and Fedor land punches simultaneously, and both are knocked backward to the ground by the force. Mitrione is in much better shape, and he pushes forward and lands additional punches on the ground until Fedor is out cold. Matt just had a quicker recovery. Mitrione did a stellar job of recovering to earn that win, and finished one of the greatest to ever do it in the process. After the fight, Matt Mitrione called for respect for Fedor and asked for people to support the family of deceased MMA fighter Tim Hague. 

Fedor’s legacy will not take a massive hit from this lost, but folks will start questioning, what’s left to prove? This is Fedor Emelianenko’s third straight loss.

Heather Hardy Rocks In Her MMA Debut

After Heather let it all hang loose late in the third, and it was a marvel to watch. First, she knocks Yauger down and refuses to follow her to the ground. She stands and waits, then brutalizes her against the cage for the late stoppage. Another fighter that charmed fans and media backstage alike, Hardy makes a big splash with this win. She wants to continue boxing as well as doing MMA. Hardy has the work ethic to pull of both.

Heather Hardy (left)

Freeman Ruined Pico’s MMA Debut On PPV  

Zach Freeman surprised mostly everyone at MSG and beyond with his submission in 24 seconds of Aaron Pico, billed as the top prospect in the entire sport. Aaron Pico, 20, is considered a prodigy in the sport. An Olympic-caliber wrestler and Golden Gloves boxer, he has a tremendous upside, just not on Saturday night.

In the first round, Pico moves in and eats a knee to the head as he closes distance. He then gets dropped by an uppercut. Freeman attacks the neck with a guillotine choke that he transitions to a D’Arce choke and gets the submission.

Chandler Loses Lightweight Championship Due To Fluke Ankle Injury 

Brent Primus claimed the 155-pound title at 2:22 of the opening round, when he picked up a TKO (injury) victory. Referee Todd Anderson was forced to stop the fight after it became clear Chandler couldn’t stand on his lead left leg.

Chandler (16-4) attempted to fight through the injury, and even dropped Primus (8-0) briefly with a perfectly timed right hand counter. Primus popped back up though, and Chandler’s injury become even more evident as he chased him across the cage.

Douglas Lima Retains Welterweight Title In First Defense

Douglas Lima (29-6) recorded the first defense of his welterweight title, out dueling, newcomer Lorenz Larkin (18-6) in a five round fight (50-45, 48-47 and 48-47). This fight had a lot of calculation, a ton of technique and two guys that didn’t want to make a mistake.

After eating a left hook in the second round, Lima came roaring back with a left hand of his own that dropped Larkin to the canvas. He tried to follow up with punches on the ground, but Larkin managed to survive. Coming into the fight , Larkin had won four of his last five UFC bouts. Lima showed he is a technician in the ring. It’s going to take a lot to get the tittle off of Lima.

Bellator May Have It’s Own McGregor In Gallagher

Call him whatever you want – arrogant, ostentatious, a McGregor wannabe, etc. The kid is for real and has a bright MMA future. Gallagher, 20, tapped Machida with a rear-naked choke just 2:22 into the fight.  Gallagher landed a clean counter right early, caught a leg kick, secured a takedown and moved straight into full mount. Gallagher was aggressive from start to finish. With the win, Gallagher improves to 4-0 in Bellator, with three submission wins. Expect a tittle shot in the near future for Gallagher.