Sherdog’s Top 10: Non Pay-Per-View Main Events

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1. Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler
Bellator 58 | Nov. 19, 2011 -- Hollywood, Fla.
MTV2
If Bellator MMA had to choose only one bout on which to hang its proverbial hat, it would almost certainly have to be the back-and-forth fracas between Chandler and Alvarez at Bellator 58. It was still more than a year before the promotion would move to Spike TV, and the MTV2-televised card also had to compete with UFC 139 -- a pay-per-view which would feature an epic confrontation of its own between Mauricio Rua and Dan Henderson -- for the attention of the mixed martial arts fan that day. Those who tuned in did not regret the decision.

In one of the best fights of 2011, Chandler submitted Alvarez with a rear-naked choke 3:06 into the fourth round to become Bellator lightweight champion, a title he still holds. Both fighters had their moments. Chandler dropped Alvarez with a Superman punch almost immediately and then floored him again with a right hand late in the opening frame.

Alvarez recovered, as he is known to do, and launched an assault of his own, arguably earning a 10-8 third round against an exhausted Chandler. Somehow re-energized in round four, Chandler authored one more definitive momentum swing, wobbling his foe with another right before asserting his will with ground-and-pound and the decisive choke on the mat.

“When the fight was over, I couldn’t believe it,” Chandler said in a post-fight interview. “I always knew I could win, but when it happened, I was stunned. It was an honor to fight a great guy like Eddie and to be in one of the best fights imaginable.”

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Honorable Mentions: Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan (UFC Fight Night 6), Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver (WEC 34), Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry (UFC Live 4), Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko (Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Henderson”), Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann (UFC on Fuel TV 8), Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley (Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Daley”).