Tag: Ali Zebian

With Chris Curtis out of Bellator 251, Austin Vanderford now meets Vinicius de Jesus

Thursday’s Bellator 251 card has encountered three lineup changes.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] has a new opponent for Thursday’s Bellator 251 card at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Originally expected to fight [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag], Vanderford (9-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) now faces former LFA welterweight title challenger and current CES MMA welterweight champion [autotag]Vinicius de Jesus[/autotag] in a middleweight bout.

A promotion official informed MMA Junkie of the booking Monday but did not give a reason for Curtis’ withdrawal. MyMMANews recently reported Curtis withdrew from the fight due to a positive COVID-19 test.

De Jesus (9-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) has four of his most recent five fights. Six of his nine pro wins have come by knockout.

Curtis isn’t the only fighter to have withdrawn from Bellator 251. A promotion official also informed MMA Junkie that [autotag]Nainoa Dung[/autotag] is out of his prelim fight against [autotag]Piankhi Zimmerman[/autotag] (5-4-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and is replaced by [autotag]Ali Zebian[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).

Additionally, the light heavyweight fight between [autotag]Terrance Jean-Jacques[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Gustavo Trujillo[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has been canceled for unknown reasons, per a promotion official.

With the changes, the Bellator 251 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (CBS Sports Network/DAZN, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Corey Anderson vs. Melvin Manhoef
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Said Sowma
  • Vinicius de Jesus vs. Austin Vanderford
  • Derek Anderson vs. Killys Mota

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, TBA)

  • Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Bryce Logan
  • Julius Anglickas vs. Alex Polizzi
  • Janay Harding vs. Jessy Miele
  • Ali Zebian vs. Piankhi Zimmerman
  • Jaylon Bates vs. Joe Supino
  • Sumiko Inaba vs. Jessica Ruiz

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LFA 92 results: Askar Askar beats Kevin Wirth in one-sided main event

Askar Askar successfully rebounded from his first career loss with a dominant performance against Kevin Wirth in the LFA 92 main event.

[autotag]Askar Askar[/autotag] successfully rebounded from his first career loss with a dominant performance against [autotag]Kevin Wirth[/autotag] in Friday’s LFA 92 main event.

Askar (11-1) used a mixed arsenal of offense to overwhelm Wirth (8-2) over the course of three rounds in the bantamweight headliner, which took place at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. The final scores from the judges were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Askar shot for an early takedown that was unsuccessful. After that, he quickly found his range and began to pick Wirth apart. He landed a number of clean punches before a right hand dropped worth to his butt. Askar jumped on top and started to chip away at his opponent on the mat. He couldn’t get the finish, and eventually Wirth recovered enough to get back to his feet.

The pressure continued from Askar on his feet until he overcommitted on a punch that led him into a takedown from Wirth. Askar immediately attacked with an armbar, though, that he used to scramble back up to his feet. Wirth did his best to work behind the jab , but he wasn’t able to land anything to sway an obvious first round away from Askar.

The pressure continued from Askar to begin the second frame. He landed good striking combinations before completing a takedown roughly 30 seconds in. Askar burned a few minutes off the clock working from inside the guard, but then Wirth got himself upright. A cut opened up around Wirth’s left eye, but he reacted well and landed his best punch of the fight with a counter left hand. He couldn’t get Askar off his rhythm, though, and it was another clear round.

With the edge on the scorecards, Askar came to close the fight out strong. He stuck to his game plan of walking forward and mixing up his punches and kicks, while Wirth looked to find an opening to turn the tide of the contest. Askar put an exclamation point on it with just over three minutes remaining, though, picking his opponent up and slamming him to the canvas then riding out the clock to seal the fight in his favor.

“I need more time in the cage,” Askar said in his post-fight interview with Pat Miletich. “Obviously with this COVID thing it’s been putting everyone’s career on hold, so I hope I can get back in the cage soon. Obviously being in the gym is great, but you need to be in that cage.”

Full LFA 92 results included:

  • Askar Askar def. Kevin Wirth via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Antonio dos Santos Jr[/autotag]. def. Andre Fialho via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Dakota Bush[/autotag] def. [autotag]Brian Del Rosario[/autotag] via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:38
  • [autotag]Ricky Furar[/autotag] def. [autotag]Jacob Thrall[/autotag] via TKO (knee injury) – Round 3, 1:08
  • [autotag]Rodney Kealohi[/autotag] def. [autotag]Mefi Monterroso[/autotag] via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 1, 0:30
  • [autotag]Viecheslav Borshchev[/autotag] def. [autotag]Ali Zebian[/autotag] via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Christian Natividad[/autotag] def. [autotag]Jose Holguin[/autotag] via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:29