Tag: Bellator 249

Bellator 249 results: Cris Cyborg stops Arlene Blencowe for first career submission win

Cris Cyborg has plenty of knockouts in her career, but now she can finally say she’s earned a submission victory.

[autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] has added yet another item to the most impressive resume in women’s MMA history once again.

The only fighter of either gender to hold championships in four major promotions, Cyborg (23-2 MMA,  2-0 BMMA) made the first successful defense of her Bellator featherweight title on Thursday night, and notched the first submission victory of her career in the process.

Cyborg submitted Australia’s Arlene Blencowe with a rear-naked choke at the 2:36 mark of the second round to retain her belt in the main event of Bellator 249 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

“I’ve really been working hard because I had first submission in MMA,” Cyborg said in her post-fight interview. “I never did that before since the beginning of my career, it is a dream come true, and I am so happy.”

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There seemed little doubt of the fight’s outcome from the outset. Cyborg initiated the action by moving forward and landing leg kicks. Blencowe (13-8 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) made one attempt to stave off a vintage Cyborg flurry, but she was met with a furious onslaught in response.

Cyborg outstruck Blencowe 62-4 over the course of the fight. When she got Blencowe to the mat in the first, she telegraphed her intentions by going for a choke. She didn’t get it there. But in the second Cyborg got a takedown, rained down punches from full mount, and finally got the opening for her RNC finish.

Cyborg’s first career submission win was her 19th career finish. Blencowehad a three-fight win streak snapped.

Complete Bellator 249 results:

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Bellator 249 results: Leandro Higo finishes Ricky Bandejas in second round

Leandro Higo made the most of his time in the co-feature spotlight on Thursday night.

[autotag]Leandro Higo[/autotag] was bumped up to the co-feature bout Thursday night on CBS Sports Network when Patricky Freire vs. Jaleel Willis was canceled, and he made the most of his turn in the spotlight.

The Brazilian competitor served notice to the bantamweight division that he’s a force to be reckoned with, as he scored a one-sided victory over [autotag]Ricky Bandejas[/autotag]. A rear-naked choke got the tapout at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. at the 2:32 mark of the second round.

Higo (20-5 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) was the aggressor from the outset, as he pushed forward and landed repeated leg kicks on Bandejas (13-5 MMA, 3-4 BMMA), who seemed gun shy from the outset. Higo eventually earned a takedown around the round’s midpoint and worked to improve his position from there. By the final minute of the round, Higo had Bandejas pinned against the cage with his right arm isolated and landed right hands to Bandejas’ head, but the round expired before Higo could go for the finish.

In the second, Higo, who missed weight by three pounds on Wednesday, wasted little time going right back to the takedown, although this time, after shooting the double, Higo turned it into a slam. The end was an inevitability at this point, as Higo got his back, then a body lock, then perfectly applied the RNC for the finish.

With his sixth career rear-naked choke finish, Higo has now won two straight. American Top Team’s Bandejas has now lost two straight and four of his past six.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 249 results:

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Bellator 249 co-feature bout scrapped as commission won’t clear Patricky Freire

The Patricky Freire-Jaleel Willis fight was scrapped as the commission doctor would not clear Freire over an undisclosed medial issue.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Bellator 249 was thrown a late curveball on Thursday night when co-headliner [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] was pulled from his fight.

Freire (23-9 MMA, 14-7 BMMA) was slated to fight Jaleel Willis in the co-feature lightweight bout at Mohegan Sun Arena, but word broke toward the end of the evening’s preliminary card that Freiere was not cleared by the physician for the Mohegan Tribal Athletic Commission over what was termed an undisclosed medical issue.

Bellator officials told MMA Junkie that both competitors will still be compensated for their fight.

The dropout means that a scheduled heavyweight preliminary bout between Steve Mowry and Shawn Teed will bump up to the main card, which will be headlined by Cris Cyborg’s featherweight title defense against Arlene Blencowe.

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Bellator 249 video: Jon Jones protege Christian Edwards squeezes way to first submission win

Christian Edwards doesn’t have the resume of Jon Jones but he took one small step closer on Thursday.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Christian Edwards[/autotag] doesn’t have the resumé of [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] but he took one small step in his mentor’s path Thursday.

Taking on American Top Team Portland’s [autotag]Hamza Salim[/autotag] on the Bellator 249 prelims, Edwards (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) showed poise, aggression, and speed in the opening round.

In Round 2, Edwards took the fight back to the mat, where he had success in the opening round. From there, Edwards was able to work a choke and get the tap.

The win was Edwards’ first career submission victory and his third finish in four fights.

Edwards, 21, trains out of Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M. and has been taken under the wing of the former UFC light heavyweight champion Jones. As recently as last week, Jones invited Edwards to his house to watch video and study for a fight against Salim (5-4 MMA, 0-2 BMMA).

Bellator 249 took place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main aired on CBS Sports Network after prelims on CBSSports.com.

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Bellator 249 video: Albert Gonzales gets elbow dislocated by armbar, still wins fight

Albert Gonzalez got his elbow dislocated by an armbar Thursday night … and still emerged the winner.

Bellator 249 added an unforeseen new wrinkle in the “tap or snap” debate.

[autotag]Kastriot Xhema[/autotag] got [autotag]Albert Gonzales[/autotag] in a deep armbar during the closing seconds of the second round in the evening’s first bout in Uncasville, Conn.

As the seconds wound down. Xhema (3-5 MMA, 3-5 BMMA) cranked the armbar tighter. Gonzales (2-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), for his part, never tapped, whether it was a matter of trying to ride out to the end of the round, or whether he literally wasn’t in a position to make the actual tap.

Either way, Gonzales’ right elbow dislocated, the round ended, and with that, the end of the fight, because surely no competitor was going to continue with an obvious arm break.

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Then came one final twist: Gonzales never formally called off the fight. And Zhema was exhausted after putting everything he had into his attempt to finish things. And before the doctors were able to go ahead and check on Gonzales to call off the fight, Zhema pronounced himself unable to continue on his stool.

So that ended the fight as a retirement TKO, as Gonzalez came out of the bout with both a dislocated arm and, because he didn’t tap, and kept his yap shut after the horn ended, he came out with his first Bellator victory.

You can see the crazy finish below:

Bellator 249 live and official results

Bellator 249 takes place Thursday, and you can join us for a live video stream and official results.

Bellator 249 takes place Thursday, and you can join us for a live video stream and official results beginning at 7:15 p.m. ET (4:15 p.m. PT).

The event takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In the main event, women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg (22-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) takes on challenger Arlene Blencowe (13-7 MMA, 6-3 BMMA). In the co-feature, Patricky Freire (23-9 MMA, 14-7 BMMA) meets Jaleel Willis (13-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in a catchweight bout (Willis missed the lightweight limit).

Official Bellator 249 results include:

MAIN CARD (CBS Sports Network, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe – for women’s featherweight title
  • Patricky Freire vs. Jaleel Willis
  • Ricky Bandejas vs. Leandro Higo
  • Saad Awad vs. Mandel Nallo

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7:15 p.m. ET)

  • Steve Mowry vs. Shawn Teed
  • Joseph Creer vs. Andrew Kapel
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Kemran Lachinov
  • Christian Edwards def. Hamza Salim via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 2, 1:28
  • Da’Mon Blackshear def. Mike Kimbel via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 2, 4:14
  • Aviv Gozali def. Logan Neal via submission (Kimura) — Round 1, 3:22
  • Albert Gonzales def. Kastriot Xhema via TKO (retirement) — Round 2, 5:00