INGLEWOOD, Calif. – A pair of savvy veterans, [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] and Henry Corrales showed each other plenty of respect when the cage door was shut on their Bellator 238 main-card bout on Saturday night.
Maybe just a little bit too much respect.
In a fight which seemed to promise fireworks that never quite materialized, the featherweight duo put on a tactical display in front of a crowd which didn’t much appreciate the strategy. In the end, Archuleta (24-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) scored enough points to earn the decision, as he got a 29-28, across-the-board unanimous nod from the judges.
The pattern was set in the opening round, as Archuleta stayed on the outside and forced Corrales (17-5 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) to chase him. Corrales didn’t want to rush after him, a point that was underscored by Archuleta landing shots whenever Corrales closed the distance.
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This went on through the first round and into the second as the crowd got restless. Late in the second, Archuleta had the fight’s most memorable moment, as he got behind Corrales, lifted him up through Corrales’ attempt to grab the fence, and delivered a nice slam.
Corrales showed more urgency in the third and briefly dropped Archuleta a couple times, but it wasn’t nearly enough to turn the fight in his favor.
The bout was a matchup of fighters who had lost in the first round of the Bellator featherweight Grand Prix in their last outings. Archuleta has now won 19 of 20 with his 12th career decision win. Corrales’ third career decision loss was his second defeat in a row.
The featherweight bout was part of the Bellator 238 main card at The Forum. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 238 results include:
- Juan Archuleta def. Henry Corrales via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28. 29-28)
- Sergio Pettis def. Alfred Khashakyan via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 3:00
- Raymond Daniels def. Jason King via TKO — Round 1, 3:07
- Emilee King def. Ava Knight via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 2:18
- Brandon Bender def. Joshua Jones via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
- Aaron Pico def. Daniel Carey via KO (punch) — Round 2, 0:15
- AJ Agazarm def. Adel Altamimi via submission (triangle choke) — Round 3, 1:22
- Mario Navarro vs. Jay Jay Wilson def. Navarro via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 2:48
- Curtis Millender def. Moses Murrietta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Chris Avila def. Anthony Taylor via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Miguel Jacob def. David Pacheco via unanimous decision (30-27. 30-26, 30-27)
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