Bellator 43

Bellator XLIII
Information
Promotion	Bellator Fighting Championships
Date	May 7, 2011
Venue	First Council Casino
City	Newkirk, Oklahoma
Event chronology
Bellator XLII Bellator XLIII Bellator XLIV

Bellator XLIII is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held by Bellator Fighting Championships. The event is scheduled to take place on May 7, 2011 at the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma. The card is expected to feature fights in the Bellator Season Four Tournament. The event will be distributed live in prime time by MTV2.

Background

A heavyweight bout between Neil Grove and The Ultimate Fighter 10 alumnus, Zak Jensen was scheduled for this event. However, Grove pulled out of the bout on May 3 due to an injury.

A local feature bout between George Burton and John Bryant has apparently been scratched, as neither fighter weighed in.

Official Fight Card

Main Card

• Welterweight Tournament Final bout: Jay Hieron vs. Rick Hawn

Hieron defeated Hawn by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) to win Bellator's Season Four Welterweight Tournament.

• Middleweight bout: Joe Riggs vs. Bryan Baker

Baker defeated Riggs via KO (punch) at 3:53 of round 2.

• Bantamweight bout: Jose Vega vs. Chase Beebe

Beebe defeated Vega via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:06 of round 1.

• Heavyweight bout: Vince Lucero vs. Ron Sparks

Sparks defeated Lucero via submission (keylock) at 2:18 of round 1.

Local Feature Fights

• Catchweight (179 lb) bout: Rich Bouphanouvong vs. David Rickels

Rickles defeated Bouphanouvong via submission (triangle choke) at 1:11 of round 2.

• Lightweight bout: Mike Schatz vs. Michael Osborn

Osborn defeated Schatz via TKO (ref-stoppage) at 1:58, Round 1