Tag: Alexey Shurkevich

Bellator 295 post-event facts: Patchy Mix’s knee knockout caps off epic grand prix run

Patchy Mix is firmly in the Bellator record books after a perfect knee made him $1 million richer at Bellator 295.

Bellator 295 took place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and marked the second night of the promotion’s weekend doubleheader in Hawaii.

The final fight of a loaded week proved to be the most memorable, because [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) scored one of the greatest knockout highlights in company history when he flattened [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) with a picture-perfect knee to the jaw knockout just 80 seconds into their main event. The nasty finish not only won him the interim bantamweight title, but he is the last man standing in the bantamweight grand prix, winning $1 million after completing the eight-man field.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 295.

Bellator 295 video: Masayuki Kikuiri starches Alexey Shurkevich with massive knockout cross

Alexey Shurkevich’s eyes were eerily open as Masayuki Kikuiri landed a follow-up blow to his unconscious opponent at Bellator 295.

Former Pancrase titleholder [autotag]Masayuki Kikuiri[/autotag] made a powerful promotional debut Saturday at Bellator 295 when he starched [autotag]Alexey Shurkevich[/autotag] with a second-round knockout punch.

The bout took place as part of the event’s prelims at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The stoppage came at 4:33 of Round 2.

Kikuiri (9-2-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) found success with his striking throughout the bout and was always a step ahead of Shurkevich (13-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA).

At impeccable distance, Kikuiri found a home for the right cross, which he blasted Shurkevich with late in Round 2. Upon impact, Shurkevich flew backward to the canvas. When he hit the ground, Shurkevich’s eyes were eerily open as he stared in the opposite direction of the charging Kikuiri. A la Dan Henderson, Kikuiri put the nail in the coffin with a follow-up blow that seemed to knock consciousness back into Shurkevich.

Kikuiri, 27, was the Pancrase interim welterweight champion when he signed with Bellator in September 2022. The win Saturday was his third in as many consecutive outings. Shurkevich, 30, loses for the first time in the Bellator cage and falls into a two-fight skid.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 13-19)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from March 13-19.

Usman Nurmagomedov gets opponent for Bellator 269; Vitaly Minakov meets new foe

The Bellator 269 lineup is shaping up as Usman Nurmagomedov, Vitaly Minakov, and a handful of other fighters were added to the Oct. 23 card.

Bellator 269 is shaping up.

On Tuesday, the promotion announced a handful of additions – and a change – the Oct. 23 card scheduled for VTB Arena in Moscow. Included in the latest lineup is [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) who takes his third career Bellator assignment against [autotag]Patrik Pietila[/autotag] (11-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Nurmagomedov, , most recently competed at Bellator 263 in July when he defeated Manny Muro via first-round TKO. The younger cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov has been praised by Bellator president Scott Coker as one of the promotion’s top rising stars.

Additionally, with [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] out, the former Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Vitaly Minakov[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) now meets former Titan FC champion [autotag]Said Sowma[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). The fight was first reported by Russian outlet Fight Time.

Minakov, 36, has not competed since August 2019 when he knocked out Tim Johnson in 105 seconds at Bellator 225. The victory returned him into the win column after his first career loss, which came against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216 in February 2019.

Sowma, 28, rides into the matchup the momentum of his first Bellator victory. After a unanimous decision loss to Tyrell Fortune in November 2020, Sowma knocked out former UFC and PFL fighter Ronny Markes in 69 seconds at Bellator 262 in July.

The promotion also announced four prelim fights have also been added to the card including [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMM A) vs. [autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 5-3 BMMA), [autotag]Grachik Bozinyan[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Ross Houston[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), [autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Stephanie Ielo Page[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA, and [autotag]Christian Eckerlin[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Alexey Shurkevich[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

The Mikhailov vs. Moore matchup was first reported by Severe MMA, while the Bozinyan vs. Houston fight was first reported by Armenia MMA.

Bellator 269 takes place Oct. 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the Bellator 269 lineup includes:

  • Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson
  • Vitaly Minakov vs. Said Sowma
  • Rustam Khabilov vs. Andrey Koreshkov
  • Nikita Mikhailov vs. Brian Moore
  • Grachik Bozinyan vs. Ross Houston
  • Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Ielo Page
  • Christian Eckerlin vs. Alexey Shurkevich

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