Despite Bellator 81 split-decision loss, Ricardo Tirloni vows to be Bellator champ one day

Most fighters who lose by split decision believe they won the fight, and Ricardo Tirloni is no exception.

Tirloni (15-3 MMA, 2-2 BFC) this past Friday dropped a split call to Dave Jansen (19-2 MMA, 5-0 BFC) at Bellator 81 in the semifinals of the promotion's Season 7 lightweight tournament.

His dream of winning a Bellator tournament and fighting for a title will have to wait, but he said walked away with the confidence that he won the fight – and will hope to build off that, despite a loss on his record.

Bellator 81 took place at the Ryan Center at The University of Rhode Island in Kingston with a main card, including Tirloni-Jansen, on MTV2.

"I don’t agree with the judges," Tirloni, from Brazil, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) after the fight. "No one who has spoken to me does. I lost the first round. I think I lost it due to a flash knockdown. But outside out that, I moved forward and battered him throughout the entire first round. In the second and third rounds, I did the same thing. I don’t know what fight the judges saw."

Tirloni lost in the opening round of the Season 6 lightweight tournament to eventual winner Rick Hawn, so the disappointment of coming up short was fresh in his memory from May. But against Hawn, he was knocked out in the first round – a little more definitive that a controversial split decision that even Jansen seemed surprised, or at least relieved, about.

"In my opinion, I return to Brazil the victor," Tirloni said. "I won’t be in the final. Fine. But I know I won, and everyone who saw us knows I won. Even he knows. He was asked if he won the fight, and he didn’t know what to say. Even he knows I won."

Tirloni said he broke his left hand punching Jansen, and now has that to deal with on top of the disappointment of the loss.

He also believes fighting an American in America didn't help his cause on Friday.

"I just know that my boxing was superior for three rounds, so I don’t know how they arrived at their decision," he said. "It’s like they made up their minds that he was going to be the winner and I got the short end of the stick."

But Tirloni is doing his best to not let it deter his ambition going forward.

"I hope to return to Bellator as soon as my hand heals," he said. "I wish to join the next tournament. I need this. I love fighting. It’s my life. I will one day be the champion of this organization, believe me."

Check out highlights of the Tirloni-Jansen fight, as well as the rest of the Bellator 81 main card, in the video above.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/31721/despite-bellator-81-split-decision-loss-ricardo-tirloni-vows-to-be-bellator-champ-one-day.mma