Marlon Sandro (left) was surpassed by Daniel Straus at Bellator 68. Photo: Disclosure
Brazilian Marlon Sandro made his second GP final in Bellator this Friday night. But just like last season, the Nova União athlete left the cage circulate without the title. In the main attraction of Bellator 68, an event held in the city of Atlanta, Marlon was unable to face Daniel Straus and was defeated by unanimous decision from the judges.
But the event wasn't all bad for the Brazilians: In the semifinals of the bantamweight GP, Marcos Loro, Marlon's Nova União teammate, fought a tough fight against Travis Marx, but emerged victorious in the judges' unanimous decision.
Marlon loses final to Straus
The final of the sixth season of the featherweight GP started tensely. In the first moments, Daniel Straus landed a kick to Marlon Sandro's genitals, who felt the blow and the fight was interrupted for a long time.
After the Brazilian recovered, Straus took the initiative in the duel. The North American controlled the distance well to land some punches and, soon after, look for the clinch to trap Marlon against the big guys. In the second round, history repeated itself, despite the Brazilian trying to land some counter blows on the North American.
In the third round, the Brazilian had his best moment in the fight, Marlon landed a standing katagatame on Daniel, however, Straus defended the blow well. In the final moments of the fight, the North American took down the Brazilian, reached his back and went for a rear naked choke. But there wasn't enough time.
At the end of the dispute, the side judges saw Daniel Straus' victory unanimously (29×28, 30×27, 30×27). With the result, the American pockets a prize of US$100 and guarantees the right to compete for the Bellator belt.
Loro wins and guarantees a place in the final
In his career, Brazilian Marcos Loro fought very balanced fights and complained about some of the judges' decisions against him. And this Friday, the duel against Travis Marx seemed to take the same path. But with a good recovery in the last round, the Brazilian took the win with a unanimous decision from the judges.
In the duel, valid for the semi-finals of the bantamweight GP, Loro started better where he went for a frank exchange of blows. The Brazilian landed good punches and successfully defended the North American's takedown attempts. But in the second round, Travis changed his strategy, avoided an open fight and stopped the Brazilian with his back to the cage.
But in the last and decisive round, Loro, knowing that he needed to win that round, set out to define the fight. The Nova União athlete launched several low kicks and powerful punches to be better and take the win in the judges' decision (29×28, 29×28, 29×28).
With the result, Loro awaits the winner of the fight between Brazilian Luis Betão Nogueira and Japanese Hiroshi Nakamura to meet his opponent in the grand final.
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