Lost amid the UFC on Fox bedlam was the fact that (another) very good Bellator event was taking place on Saturday night. On a card filled with explosive finishes, Douglas Lima topped them all with his tournament winning knockout of Ben Saunders.
Though Saunders looked like he would take it early. After a see-saw opening four minutes spent in the clinch, Saunders recovered from a Lima slam to scramble into full mount. With a body triangle locked up, the UFC veteran rained elbows on his opponent until the sound of the horn.
Battered from the assault, Lima finally broke through a minute into the second frame with a looping counter right that floored Saunders. After a succession of brutal hammerfists, the Bellator season five welterweight tournament title belong to the 23-year-old, as did $100,000 and the next shot at undefeated champion Ben Askren.
Bellator 57 was held on November 12th at Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada. For full results and coverage, visit MMA Nation's Bellator 57 StoryStream.