Bellator 234 video highlights with Vassell’s dominance, father-son Gozali submissions

Bellator was back in Israel this week, and the headliner may have seen the emergence of a new heavyweight threat.

Bellator was back in Israel this week, and the headliner may have seen the emergence of a new heavyweight threat.

In the Bellator 234 main event, Linton Vassell (20-8 MMA, 8-5 BMMA) dominated Sergei Kharitonov (30-8 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) for a second-round TKO win. A win for Kharitonov may have gotten him a shot at heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, but now he’s back to the drawing board – and Vassell, making his return to the division, showed he may be a force to be reckoned with.

The card also featured a pair of Israelis fighting on their home soil. The 46-year-old Haim Gozali (12-6 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) picked up a first-round heel hook submission against Artur Pronin (16-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in his retirement fight. After laying his gloves down, he cornered his 18-year-old son Aviv Gozali (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) to another first-round submission, an anaconda choke stoppage of Zaka Fatullazade (14-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

Also on the card, Austin Vanderford (9-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) stayed unbeaten with a decision win over Grachik Bozinyan (10-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). And Sidney Outlaw (14-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) outworked Roger Huerta (24-12-1 MMA, 1-5 BMMA) for a decision win.

Check out the video highlights for all five fights on the main card above.

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Bellator 234 took place at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel, and aired on Paramount/DAZN on Friday via tape delay.

Complete Bellator 234 results included:

  • Linton Vassell def. Sergei Kharitonov via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:15
  • Sidney Outlaw def. Roger Huerta via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Aviv Gozali def. Zaka Fatullazade via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 1, 0:56
  • Haim Gozali def. Artur Pronin via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 4:12
  • Austin Vanderford def. Grachik Bozinyan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Sinead Kavanagh def. Olga Rubin via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:37
  • Robson Gracie Jr. def. Amir Bashir via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:39
  • Adam Keresh def. Vladimir Fedin via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:29
  • Simon Smotritsky def. Illia Hladkii via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:10
  • Vuqar Keramov def. Gustavo Wurlitzer via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:29
  • Kirill Medvedovsky def. Akhmed Al Farazha via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 0:46
  • Raz Bring def. Naziri Daniliuk via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Mihail Dulgher def. Ofir Leibel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Ron Becker def. Artem Kazartsev via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:57
  • Ben Cohen def. Maksym Tkachuk via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:17
  • Eli Aronov def. Sari Hleihil via split decision (30-26, 27-28, 30-26)
  • Itay Lipszyc def. Yizhak Yakobov via submission (ankle lock) – Round 1, 2:51
  • Noam Voldman def. Nisim Rozalis via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Itay Tratner vs. Elias Mamadov declared a split draw declared a split draw (28-27, 28-29, 28-28)
  • Tomer Maslis def. David Malka via TKO (exhaustion) – Round 3, 1:32