Looking to bounce back from a knockout loss to Paul Daley, [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] ran into a relentless opponent in former Bellator welterweight champion [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag].
Koreshkov (24-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) used a steady diet of knees and some well-timed takedowns to outwork Homasi (15-10 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) for a unanimous decision in the co-main event. Koreshkov won with a pair of 30-26 scores and a 30-27.
The welterweight bout was the Bellator 264 co-main event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It aired on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Homasi threw leg kicks early to try to slow Koreshkov up. He ducked away from a big spinning kick from Koreshkov, then 100 seconds in found himself tied up with Koreshkov against the fence. Homasi slowed things down and landed knees to the thigh, but Koreshkov finally got separation and went back to the center of the cage. Another spinning effort from Koreshkov was countered by Homasi, who tied him up again. With a minute left, Koreshkov landed a flying knee that stunned Homasi. But Homasi threw a spinning elbow with 30 seconds left to get out of trouble. Another Koreshkov knee landed with 15 seconds left, and an elbow and uppercut came just before the bell.
Homasi again worked kicks to start the second, and Koreshkov kicked high and looked for knees. A minute in, Koreshkov landed a punch to the midsection that bent Homasi over. Koreshkov pushed him to the fence and kept after the body. Homasi mmountned a brief rally, but Koreshkov went right back to the knee and put Homasi on the canvas. Koreshkov went after the finish, but Homasi crawled his way to the fence to try to stay alive.
With two minutes left, though, Koreshkov scooped Homasi up, carried him a few feet, then slammed him and went into full mount. He went after an arm-triangle choke with Homasi bloodied up, then worked ground-and-pound. A rear-naked choke presented itself with a minute left, but Koreshkov postured up, drilled Homasi with two knees to the body, then put him back down.
Homasi threw a wild right hand right away in the third, and when Koreshkov avoided it, he took him back to the mat. Koreshkov delivered more knees to the body, then went to work on top in Homasi’s guard. Homasi hung tough, though, and reversed position in the latter half of the round. He finished the fight on top, but it was largely Koreshkov’s fight.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 264 results include:
- Andrey Koreshkov def. Sabah Homasi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Raufeon Stots def. Magomed Magomedov via unanimous decision decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Davion Franklin def. Everett Cummings via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:21
- Khadzhi Bestaev def. Ty Gwerder via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Pam Sorenson def. Roberta Samad via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jeffrey Glossner def. Sebastian Ruiz via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jon McNeil def. Orlando Mendoza via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:57
[vertical-gallery id=721070]