Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard quickly disposed of former NFL running back Whisper Goodman plus UFC and Pride vet Yves Edwards beat Luis Palomino by unanimous decision at Bellator 24 on Thursday night in Hollywood, FL. Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar both won their quarter-final matches of the women’s 115 pound tournament and Neil Grove destroyed former UFC fighter Eddie Sanchez in the first round of Bellator’s inaugural heavyweight tournament.

With speed and strength reminiscent of Vitor Belfort, Lombard, fighting in a non-title fight, wasted little time in knocking out Goodman in just 37 seconds of the first round, leaving his opponent unconscious. Lombard will face last year’s tournament winner Alexander Schlemenko for the title in October. Yves Edwards won the unanimous decision largely due to takedowns in the first and third rounds as all three judges scored the bout 29-28. This fight featured very little action and even drew some boos from the crowd. Palomino was much more aggressive and clearly won the second round with some crisp strikes.

In the first televised fight, Neil Grove landed a straight left jab just a few seconds into the fight that likely broke Eddie Sanchez’s left orbital, and followed with many vicious blows before the referee stopped the fight after 1:32 in the first round. With the win, Grove moves into the semi-finals of the first ever Bellator heavyweight tournament. Megumi Fujii beautifully blended takedowns into submissions against Carla Esparza, winning by armbar in the second round and Jessica Aguilar beat Lynn Esparza on her second attempt at a triangle choke (the same move that Brock Lesnar used to submit Shane Carwin). Both Fujii and Aguilar will fight in the second round for the women’s tournament, though their opponents have yet to be determined. 

Complete Bellator 24 Results:

Neil Grove def Eddie Sanchez by TKO 1:32 Round 1

Megumi Fujii def Carla Alvarez by submission (armbar) 0:57 Round 2

Hector Lombard def Whisper Goodman by KO 0:37 Round 1

Jessica Aguilar def Lynn Alvarez by submission (arm triangle) 4:01 Round 1

Yves Edwards def Luis Palomino by unanimous decision 5:00 Round 3

Non-Televised Results

Tulio Quintanilla def Brian Eckstein by KO 2:48 Round 3

Farkhad “Frank” Sharipov def Eric Luke by unanimous decision 5:00 Round 3

Bellator 24 Results

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