Megumi Fujii's place as the top female fighter on the planet may be debatable, but the Japanese fighter has one record all to herself. The Bellator standout etched her name atop the history books by becoming the first MMA fighter to win 22 fights before suffering a loss.
Fujii (22-0) pulled off the feat by defeating Lisa Ward via first-round arm bar submission at Bellator 31 at L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The win was a rematch of their Aug. 2007 bout, in which Fujii won via first-round arm bar sumbission. That result, however, was controversial, as Ward claimed she never tapped and that the referee stopped it prematurely.
There was no such dispute this time around, as Fujii easily cinched the arm bar, causing Ward to scream out in pain and tap at 1:39 of the first.
"I know Lisa Ward is a very tough fighter," Fujii said. "I didn't expect to finish that fast with the arm bar but I gave it everything I can and that's the result."
Prior to Fujii, Jason Black and Satoko Shinashi had both 21 fights without a loss before suffering their first respective setbacks, though both also had draws on their record as well.
The 36-year-old Fujii, though, has been Ms. Perfect, finishing 19 of her opponents.
The win also allowed Fujii to advance into the Bellator women's tournament finals, where she'll face Zoila Frausto who also advanced with a win on the card.
Frausto, however, did not make it into the finals without some controversy, needing a disputed split decision over Jessica Aguilar to advance.
Frausto was thought to have a major advantage in the standup department, but despite the fact that the fight never hit the ground, it was hardly the blowout many expected.
In fact, by the end, Frausto (9-1) was the one who looked the worse for wear, with a split lip and bloody nose.
While Frausto connected with the harder punches, it was Aguilar (9-4) who seemed to push the pace, always moving forward while Frausto continually moved to her right. The judges, however, disagreed, with two of the three scoring it 30-27 for Frausto. (The lone dissenting judge scored it 30-27 for Aguilar). The fans booed the decision, thinking Aguilar had won.
"I train with the best team in the world," Aguilar said. "They trained me for everything. Much respect. I'm a ground fighter but I wanted to do something different. I thought I did well."
In a men's welterweight qualifier, Chris Lozano overwhelmed Yoshiyuki Yoshida on the way to a second-round TKO win after Yoshida's corner wouldn't allow him to continue into the final round.
The unbeaten Lozano (6-0) outmuscled Yoshida throughout the 10-minute fight, flashing his power with an early knockdown in the first. But it was in the second where the majority of the damage came.
First, Lozano landed a series of powerful knees that rocked Yoshida, but later in the round, Yoshida tried an arm bar from the bottom. Lozano escaped and unleashed brutal ground and pound for the remainder of the round.
Yoshida walked back to his corner under his own power but his left eye was swollen shut and his corner called it quits before the third could begin.
"I just had to take what I had, damage him any way I could," said Lozano, who joined the season four tournament field with the win. "I landed a couple knees, I worked my jiu-jitsu. I got busy, I smelled blood. I'm like a shark in the water."
In an unaired fight, heavyweight Dave Herman returned from a contractual dispute with the promotion to defeat Michael Kita via first-round omaplata submission.
Fujii (22-0) pulled off the feat by defeating Lisa Ward via first-round arm bar submission at Bellator 31 at L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The win was a rematch of their Aug. 2007 bout, in which Fujii won via first-round arm bar sumbission. That result, however, was controversial, as Ward claimed she never tapped and that the referee stopped it prematurely.
There was no such dispute this time around, as Fujii easily cinched the arm bar, causing Ward to scream out in pain and tap at 1:39 of the first.
"I know Lisa Ward is a very tough fighter," Fujii said. "I didn't expect to finish that fast with the arm bar but I gave it everything I can and that's the result."
Prior to Fujii, Jason Black and Satoko Shinashi had both 21 fights without a loss before suffering their first respective setbacks, though both also had draws on their record as well.
The 36-year-old Fujii, though, has been Ms. Perfect, finishing 19 of her opponents.
The win also allowed Fujii to advance into the Bellator women's tournament finals, where she'll face Zoila Frausto who also advanced with a win on the card.
Frausto, however, did not make it into the finals without some controversy, needing a disputed split decision over Jessica Aguilar to advance.
Frausto was thought to have a major advantage in the standup department, but despite the fact that the fight never hit the ground, it was hardly the blowout many expected.
In fact, by the end, Frausto (9-1) was the one who looked the worse for wear, with a split lip and bloody nose.
While Frausto connected with the harder punches, it was Aguilar (9-4) who seemed to push the pace, always moving forward while Frausto continually moved to her right. The judges, however, disagreed, with two of the three scoring it 30-27 for Frausto. (The lone dissenting judge scored it 30-27 for Aguilar). The fans booed the decision, thinking Aguilar had won.
"I train with the best team in the world," Aguilar said. "They trained me for everything. Much respect. I'm a ground fighter but I wanted to do something different. I thought I did well."
In a men's welterweight qualifier, Chris Lozano overwhelmed Yoshiyuki Yoshida on the way to a second-round TKO win after Yoshida's corner wouldn't allow him to continue into the final round.
The unbeaten Lozano (6-0) outmuscled Yoshida throughout the 10-minute fight, flashing his power with an early knockdown in the first. But it was in the second where the majority of the damage came.
First, Lozano landed a series of powerful knees that rocked Yoshida, but later in the round, Yoshida tried an arm bar from the bottom. Lozano escaped and unleashed brutal ground and pound for the remainder of the round.
Yoshida walked back to his corner under his own power but his left eye was swollen shut and his corner called it quits before the third could begin.
"I just had to take what I had, damage him any way I could," said Lozano, who joined the season four tournament field with the win. "I landed a couple knees, I worked my jiu-jitsu. I got busy, I smelled blood. I'm like a shark in the water."
In an unaired fight, heavyweight Dave Herman returned from a contractual dispute with the promotion to defeat Michael Kita via first-round omaplata submission.