Bellator 59 Results: Prindle-Santos Declared No Contest; Dantas Claims Bantamweight Tourney

Bellator was coming off one of its biggest fights in years, and hoping to carry over the momentum of Eddie Alvarez-Michael Chandler with Saturday night's Bellator 59 card.

However, the ending to Bellator 59 was not quite as exciting as Bellator 58, as heavyweight tournament finalists Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos had their bout declared a no-contest after Santos delivered a blow to the groin area of Prindle. Prindle tried to fight through the pain of the kick, but told the New Jersey cageside doctor that he felt like he was going to be physically sick and the fight was called early in the first round.

Prindle and Santos will likely face off again in early-2012 to declare a contender to Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad.

In the bantamweight tourney finals, Eduardo Dantas defeated Alexis Vila to secure a shot at Bellator champion Zach Makovsky. Dantas used his striking to keep the Olympic bronze medalist from taking the mat to the ground.

Kurt Pellegrino, a former UFC fighter, was stopped by Patricky "Pitbull" Freire less than a minute into their bout, as Freire connected on several punches and the referee stepped in. The stoppage was not popular with the New Jersey crowd, as Pellegrino is a native of the state.

"I started my career in Atlantic City and I wanted to end it in Atlantic City too, so I'm glad Bellator gave me this fight," Pellegrino said.

"Tonight, Eduardo Dantas went from the #1 prospect in the world to a world-class fighter who will pose a spectacular challenge for our Bantamweight World Champion Zach Makovsky," said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Patricky Pitbull further established himself as one of the most electrifying lightweights in the world by stopping Kurt Pellegrino early in the first. And, while it's never ideal to end a night, nevertheless a tournament with a no contest, those things are going to occasionally happen in this game."

BELLATOR 59 RESULTS

Main Card

-Eric Prindle vs. Thiago Santos was declared a no-contest in the heavyweight tournament final

-Patricky "Pitbull" Freire defeated Kurt Pellegrino via TKO (punches) at :50 of first round

-Eduardo Dantas defeated Alexis Vila via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in bantamweight tournament final

-Marcin Held defeated Phillipe Nover via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Dana Becker is a staff writer for FightLine.com. He can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DanaBecker.