HONOLULU – [autotag]Zach Zane[/autotag]’s grappling advantage and MMA experience was more than [autotag]Nainoa Dung[/autotag] was prepared for on Saturday at Bellator 236, and it showed in the result.
Although Dung (3-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) nearly staged a final-round comeback, Zane’s (14-9 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) overwhelming success with takedowns in the first two rounds put him ahead on the scorecards for the unanimous decision win. The judges’ scores were 29-28 across the board.
The lightweight bout opened up the Bellator 236 main card at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
The difference in grappling ability was evident in the first round. Zane shot in for an early takedown and planted Dung on the mat for a long period. Dung managed to get up once, but was put on the mat, controlled and peppered with shots once again for the remainder of the round.
It was more of the same in Round 2. Zane needed less than a minute to find an opening for his first takedown, easily putting Dung on his back. Dung had no answers from bottom position, and Zane was able to posture up, land punches and advance position and out-scramble Dung on his get-up attempts. All he couldn’t do is finish the fight.
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With the fight clearly going against him, Dung came out desperate in Round 3, and it nearly got him the win. He stung Zane with some heavy body kicks and went all-in on a pair of guillotine choke attempts. Zane survived, though, and while he lost the round, his work in the first two rounds spelled the difference.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 236 results include:
- Zach Zane def. Nainoa Dung via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Swayne Lunasco def. Kaylan Gorospe via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:29
- Ben Wilhelm def. Kealii Kanekoa via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:24
- Dustin Barca def. Brandon Pieper via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:58
- Kai Kamaka III def. Spencer Higa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Keoni Diggs def. Scotty Hao via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:23
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