For the second time in history, the sport of mixed martial arts is being contested in the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
On Saturday, Bellator MMA hosted one of their most stacked cards in the promotion’s history.
During the preliminary portion of Bellator 180, Matt Rizzo fought Sergio Da Silva.
Both fighters threw strikes in the center of the cage to start the fight. Rizzo then went for a takedown. He couldn’t get Silva to the ground, but he got him up against the cage. Both fighters fought as hard as they could to get their opponent to the ground, but both were unsuccessful. Silva briefly secured a takedown but Rizzo immediately got up. Silva later went for a knee bar which allowed Rizzo to take his back. However, Silva quickly got out of danger. The round ended with Rizzo on his back, while both fighters threw strikes.
The second round began with Silva landing a takedown. Silva secured top position. Rizzo fought hard to get up, but he couldn’t get Silva off of him. Rizzo went for an armbar, but Silva fought off the submission attempt. Rizzo continued to threaten with submissions, which allowed him to take top position. Rizzo then secured full mount and then took his opponent’s back. He then went for a rear-naked choke, but Silva escaped. The round ended with Rizzo on top.
Rizzo landed a takedown immediately to start the final round. Midway in the round, Rizzo managed to take Silva’s back. Rizzo moved to top position and went for an arm triangle, which led to the submission.
Official Result:
Matt Rizzo def. Sergio Da Silva by submission (Round 3)
