Bellator 266 results: DeAnna Bennett decisions Alejandra Lara in dominant showing

DeAnna Bennett picked up a memorable win by outpointing Alejandra Lara at Bellator 266.

[autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag]’s first Bellator win was one to remember.

The Bellator women’s flyweight picked up a dominant decision win over [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] on Saturday at Bellator 266. Bennett (11-7-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) won 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26 on the judges’ scorecards at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

It was a special moment for Bennett, as she was fighting close to her hometown and in a venue that had an emotional tie for her. She dedicated the victory to her late father, who used to work in the venue as a police officer.

In the first round, Lara (9-5 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) was tagging up Bennett early with hard kicks and punches. Bennett kept the pressure, but Lara managed to maintain distance and to keep her striking flowing. Around two minutes in the round, Bennett got Lara’s back after a successful trip. She looked for the submission and landed heavy ground-and-pound on Lara from the back mount. It was a strong round by Bennett.

Round 2 was closer, but Bennett was still dictating the action. The two exchanged shots on the feet for the majority of the round. Bennett did most of the pressuring and landed the cleaner shots. Lara was not able to find her rhythm,

In the final round, Lara was able to catch a second wind. The striking exchanges on the feet were more even, but once again Bennett was getting the better of the exchanges. The Colombian fighter took down Bennett in the last minute of the round and controlled the fight until the final bell.

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With this result, Bennett snapped a three-fight losing streak. It was also her first victory since signing with Bellator in late 2020. Bennett did miss weight for the fight, coming in 3.2 pounds over the flyweight limit.

On the other hand, Lara is now on a two-fight skid. She was coming off a split decision loss to Kana Watanabe back in April, which put an end to her a two-fight winning streak.

Updated Bellator 266 results include:

  • DeAnna Bennett def. Alejandra Lara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
  • Saul Rogers def. Georgi Karakhanyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
  • Ben Parrish def. Christian Edwards via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:38
  • Alex Polizzi def. Grant Neal via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Anthony Adams def. Khalid Murtazaliev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Bobby Seronio III def. Socrates Hernandez via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-26, 29-26)
  • Abraham Vaesauvia def. Albert Gonzales via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:17
  • Shane Keefe def. Rhalan Gracie via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Edwin De Los Santos def. Jon Adams via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:29
  • Jesse Delgado def. Joshua Dillon via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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