Shlemenko vs. Rogers from last night’s Bellator 54

If last night’s Bellator 54 in Atlantic City, New Jersey was a preview of things to come, then under no condition should you skip the finale of this season’s middleweight tournament. Unless you don’t like watching exciting brawls and devastating knockouts. In that case, I really don’t know why you’re here in the first place.

Alexander Shlemenko and Brian Rogers both promised a knockout before the fight, and it quickly became apparent that neither man planned on breaking that promise. A back and forth battle from the opening seconds, the fight saw each fighter land hard shots to his opponent. In the second round, however, Shlemenko’s superior clinch game helped him get the better of Rogers, as Shlemenko rocked Rogers with knees to the head before the referee stopped the fight. Alexander Shlemenko is now 42-7 in his MMA career, and 6-1 in Bellator.

The evening’s co-main event, Vitor Vianna took home a quick TKO over Bryan Baker. From the start of the fight, Baker showed little respect for Vianna’s striking. Bryan Baker chose to throw bombs at Vianna in hopes of getting a quick finish. Bryan Baker chose poorly.

Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (22-2) has suffered an undisclosed injury and has been forced to pull out of an October 15 title bout with undefeated Season 4 lightweight tournament winner Michael Chandler (8-0) that was slated for Bellator 54 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

In spite of the setback, Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney is optimistic that Alvarez will defend his belt in the fall, but wouldn’t say whether or not Chandler will wait for the champ to heal.