It wouldn’t be a Bellator event if there wasn’t a crazy sequence due to an apparent illegal blow, would it?
But at Bellator 251, there was a twist in things. In the main-card opener between [autotag]Derek Anderson[/autotag] and [autotag]Killys Mota[/autotag] on Thursday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Anderson (76-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) hit Mota (12-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) with what at first appeared to be an illegal kick to a downed Mota.
And when Mota was unable to respond after the kick, which landed flush on the jaw, that made it appear the fight would be yet another in a preponderance of no contests due to illegal strikes in recent Bellator cards.
[lawrence-related id=564222,563867]
But the Mogehan Tribal Commission allows for the usage of instant replay in such situation. Upon viewing the replay, referee Mike Beltran ruled the strike legal. it was actually a magnificently timed kick, which landed flush a split second after Mota, who was attempting to get back to his feet, lifted his knee off that mat, making him no longer a grounded fighter.
The bout goes into the book as a head-kick KO victory for Anderson at 4:27 of the second round.
You can catch the fantastic finish in the video below:
LEGAL shot by Derek Anderson (@DerekBarbaric) 😅😅#Bellator251 | Full results: https://t.co/84d5RQYPrc pic.twitter.com/YH5q0dziC3
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) November 6, 2020