Tag: Bellator 255

Bellator 255 results: Usman Nurmagomedov wins unanimous decision in Bellator debut

Usman Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s cousin, makes a successful Bellator debut.

[autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] got the job done in his Bellator debut.

The lightweight, a cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, outpointed [autotag]Mike Hamel[/autotag] on Friday for a unanimous decision on the main card at Bellator 255 in Uncasville, Conn. Nurmagomedov (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) won 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 on the judges’ scorecards.

It was a solid showing by Nurmagomedov, who mainly kept the fight on the feet to outclass Hamel (7-5 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) in the striking department.

In the first round, Nurmagomedov was active with kicks and punches. Hamel looked to fire back, but it was clear Nurmagomedov was the more active fighter. Interestingly enough, Nurmagomedov only attempted one takedown and was unable to get it.

The second round was very much like the first, but Hamel seemed to have more confidence. Hamel connected better than the first and even landed a brief takedown. It was a better round for Hamel, but even then Nurmagomedov bloodied Hamel’s face with many stiff jabs and was able to avoid any big shots.

[lawrence-related id=600097,600039]

The third was the most competitive round. Hamel carried over his momentum and pressured Nurmagomedov. He was able to connect more shots on a Nurmagomedov who seemed to be slowing down considerably. However, Nurmagomedov still had good success with his jabs, even though they weren’t coming as often. In one the exchanges with two minutes left in the round, Nurmagomedov connected with a good body kick and that slowed down Hamel. It wasn’t as dominant as the first round, but Nurmagomedov got the better of the striking.

It was the first time Nurmagomedov competed in the U.S. The 22-year-old mainly fought in Russia and the United Arab Emirates throughout his professional MMA career.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 255 results include:

[vertical-gallery id=599880]

Bellator 255 results: Kana Watanabe’s timely takedowns lead to win over Alejandra Lara

Kana Watanabe remained undefeated in her MMA career on Friday when she outworked Alejandra Lara to a win at Bellator 255.

[autotag]Kana Watanabe[/autotag] remained undefeated in her MMA career on Friday when she outworked [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] for a competitive victory at Bellator 255.

The Rizin FF veteran Watanabe (10-0-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) made it back-to-back wins since joining the Bellator roster, using timely takedowns and top position to grind out Lara (9-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) for the split decision victory by scores of 28-29, 29-28, 29-28.

The women’s flyweight bout opened the Bellator 255 main card, which aired on Showtime and streamed on MMA Junkie from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Lara and Watanabe met in the middle to start the fight and started swinging. Lara landed big with a stiff right hand that backed Watanabe up then forced her to rush forward into a successful trip takedown. Lara didn’t panic on the ground, and eventually climbed back up to her feet. She landed some more punches, and Watanabe went for a reckless trip attempt that allowed Lara to swing into full mount. Watanabe gave up her back, and Lara started to work toward a rear-naked choke. Watanabe found a way to escape and get back to her feet, but it let her into striking exchanges, where Lara chewed her up with big shots.

The momentum for Lara continued early in the second round. Her pressure, counters and accuracy were all on point in tagging Watanabe numerous times. Watanabe waited for Lara to overcommit, though, and used her judo skills to drag her foe back to the mat. She couldn’t get much ton on top, though, and eventually found herself reversed with Lara ending on top position. Watanabe used a kimura to take the back, but she couldn’t finish the fight before time expired.

With the result hanging in the balance going into the third round, Watanabe came out aggressive to pressure with the takedown attempts. She fought hard to trip Lara to the mat off the fence, then took over control. She spent several minutes in top position, reigning down short punches and elbows from half guard to rack up some critical points and control time. She tried to finish the fight with a choke in the final seconds to put an exclamation point on it, but would have to settle with the decision win.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 255 results include:

[vertical-gallery id=599880]

Bellator 255 video: Magomed Magomedov slams, suffocates Cee Jay Hamilton for submission

Magomed Magomedov picked up his second Bellator win – and his first finish.

[mm-video type=video id=01f2akmq4mz6psgba6 playlist_id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01eqvpqbw4ymnv0rjh image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f2akmq4mz6psgba6/01f2akmq4mz6psgba6-dc8f400e740b602f21c2716408542dca.jpg]

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] is now two-for-two inside the Bellator cage.

At Bellator 255 on Friday, Magomedov (18-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) defeated promotional debutant [autotag]Cee Jay Hamilton[/autotag] by rear-naked choke at 1:22 of Round 2. The fight was the featured preliminary card fight and streamed on MMA Junkie.

Entering the fight, Magomedov was a 21-to-1 favorite on average across the major online sportsbooks. While Hamilton remained competitive in the opening minutes, Magomedov nearly finished Hamilton in the first round. Magomedov nailed a signature suplex and swarmed Hamilton with punches. The referee got closing to stopping it, but the bell saved Hamilton.

In Round 2, the domination continued. After Magomedov landed a hard flying knee, the two fighters clinched. Hamilton shot for a takedown but was quickly reversed. Magomedov climbed up Hamilton’s back, brought him back down to the canvas, and locked in a rear-naked choke to get the submission.

The win comes on the heels of Magomedov’s successful promotional debut where he defeated Matheus Mattos via unanimous decision at Bellator 254 in December.

[vertical-gallery id=599880]

Bellator 255 video: Mandel Nallo knocks out Ricardo Seixas with Superman punch

Watch Mandel Nallo add a superman finish KO to his highlight reel at Bellator 255.

[mm-video type=video id=01f2ahawf5prd9s40c playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f2ahawf5prd9s40c/01f2ahawf5prd9s40c-2927a4a8d23328d7110d6a46b1683a4c.jpg]

[autotag]Mandel Nallo[/autotag] has another finish for his highlight reel after Bellator 255.

Bellator lightweight Nallo (8-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) picked up a first-round knockout over Ricardo Seixas (9-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in the preliminary card of Friday’s event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The stoppage came at the 3:23 mark.

The knockout came after Nallo completely outclassed Seixas on the feet, landing at will and keeping Seixas on his back foot. Nallo fought loose and relaxed and connected plenty on Seixas, bloodying his face up. The finishing shot was a Superman punch that sent the Brazilian straight to the canvas.

[lawrence-related id=600039,600129]

Nallo was coming off a no-contest result against veteran Saad Awad in October. It was Nallo who landed the accidental blow that ended the fight. Prior to that, the Tristar Gym product ad suffered his first professional defeat to Killys Mota, but now he’s back on track in a big way.

[vertical-gallery id=599880]

Bellator 255 video: Chris Gonzalez mauls Roger Huerta, who drops fourth straight

Roger Huerta’s MMA record has seen better days following another loss at Bellator 255.

[autotag]Roger Huerta[/autotag]’s MMA record has seen better days following another loss at Bellator 255.

Huerta (24-13-1 MMA, 1-6 BMMA), the former UFC star and Sport Illustrated cover athlete, had his skid extended to four consecutive fights courtesy of promising lightweight prospect [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA), who picked up the dominant victory on Friday’s card at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The defensive wrestling of Huerta was not where it needed to be against the unbeaten Gonzalez, and he paid for it by spending the majority of the fight on his back. The pressure of Gonzalez eventually became too much, and Huerta was forced to tap out to strikes at the 3:01 mark of Round 3.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

Gonzalez, who comes from a strong amateur wrestling background, remained undefeated through six fights, all of which have come in Bellator. He wants to continue to progress, and at 29 sees a bright future for himself.

“I come from a great camp, I’ve got some of the most experienced teammates and coaches,” Gonzalez said in his post-fight interview with John McCarthy. “Every day is just a process and learning curve and just that white belt mentality trying to learn everything in the game.”

[vertical-gallery id=599880]

Bellator 255 video: Roman Faraldo stops 6-foot-7 welterweight Trevor Gudde in 90 seconds

Watch unbeaten prospect Roman Faraldo score a first-round TKO at Bellator 255.

[autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] got over his tallest task to date in MMA at Bellator 255.

The unbeaten welterweight prospect conquered 6-foot-7 welterweight Trevor Gudde with a first-round TKO in their matchup on the preliminary card of Friday’s event, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The stoppage came at the 1:30 mark.

Faraldo (5-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) made quick work of Gudde (2-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). The two engaged in the clinch early where Faraldo managed to connect several times on Gudde. In one of the exchanges, Faraldo dropped Gudde with a right hand. The “Scarecrow” got up from the knockdown but Gudde would drop him multiple times following the initial drop, forcing the referee to waive off the fight.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

[lawrence-related id=600039,600029]

Faraldo, a protege of UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal, remained undefeated in his MMA run. The 27-year-old was also unbeaten as an amateur with a 5-0 record before going professional.

[vertical-gallery id=599880]

Bellator 255: Broadcast plans set for Showtime debut; Mike Goldberg no longer with promotion

Bellator is back in action for the first time in 2021, and on a new network for the first time.

Bellator is back in action for the first time in 2021, and on a new network for the first time.

Bellator 255 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. And though the main card airs on Showtime, for Friday’s event, fans can watch the entire card right here on MMA Junkie, with or without a Showtime subscription.

Details of who will be working as commentators and analysts for Friday’s event have been confirmed by MMA Junkie, and you can see the scheduled broadcast team below.

Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 live stream, Bellator 255 fight card, how to watch tonight

Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire will meet Emmanuel Sanchez in the main event of Bellator 255 on Friday night, stream all the action here.

Bellator MMA is back and will kick off its 2021 season on Friday, April 2 with a huge fight featuring Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire facing Emmanuel Sanchez in the main event. This will be a rematch of their 2018 fight that Pitbull won in a unanimous decision, this time Pitbull will be putting his belt on the line against Sanchez in the 145-pound title fight on Friday.

The prelims will start at 6 p.m. ET with the main card to follow at around 9 p.m. ET and will air on both SHOWTIME and fuboTV.

This is an absolutely stacked card tonight and this should be a good one to start Bellator on Showtime, below is everything you need to know to follow the action tonight!

Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2

  • Date: Friday, April 2
  • Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut.
  • Prelims: 6:00 pm ET
  • Main Card: 9:00 pm ET
  • Live Stream: SHOWTIME (stream now)

Bellator 255 fight card

Main Card (9 PM ET, SHOWTIME)

  • Featherweight Title: Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
  • Welterweight: Neiman Gracie vs. Jason Jackson
  • Heavyweight: Jack May vs. Tyrell Fortune
  • Lightweight: Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Mike Hamel
  • Women’s Flyweight: Alejandra Lara vs. Kana Watanabe

Prelims (5 PM ET, SHOWTIME)

  • Bantamweight: Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Magomed Magomedov
  • Welterweight: Herman Terrado vs. Mukhamed Berkhmov
  • Middleweight: Khalid Murtazaliev vs. Fabio Aguiar
  • 160-pound Catchweight: Roger Huerta vs. Chris Gonzalez
  • Light Heavyweights: Jonathan Wilson vs. Jose Augusto
  • Welterweight: Trevor Gudde vs. Roman Faraldo
  • Middleweight: Branko Busick vs. Jordan Newman

Bellator Exclusively on SHO

For a limited time, SHOWTIME is offering new customers a 30-day free trial followed by a discounted price of only $4.99/month for their first 6 months (must sign up by 5/18).

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Watch Friday’s Bellator 255 in full, live on MMA Junkie (6 p.m. ET)

For Bellator 255, fans also can watch the entire card right here on MMA Junkie – both the prelims and the main card.

Bellator makes its highly anticipated return to action Friday with a not only a title fight and a key tournament fight – but a debut with a new broadcast partner.

Bellator 255 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. And for the first time, the promotion will air on the Showtime premium cable network, along with its streaming service.

But for Bellator 255, fans also can watch the entire card right here on MMA Junkie – both the prelims and the main card.

For the preliminary card at 6 p.m. ET, use the video player below. For the main card at 9 p.m., use the video player above.

Beyond the opportunity to watch the entire event for free on MMA Junkie, the Bellator 255 main card will air on Showtime for subscribers at 9 p.m. ET. In addition, it will be available on the Pluto TV, Hulu, YouTube and FuboTV streaming services. The Armstrong, Buckeye, Liberty, Optimum and Suddenlink cable providers also will offer the event without a Showtime subscription.

For future events, viewers can get a 30-day free trial to the Showtime streaming service, followed by a reduced monthly subscription cost of $4.99 per month for six months.

Bellator’s first events of 2021 will take place on three straight weeks starting with Bellator 255 on Friday, Bellator 256 on April 9 and Bellator 257 on April 16. Then Bellator 258 goes down May 7.

In Friday’s main event, lightweight and featherweight champion Patricio Freire (31-4 MMA, 19-4 BMMA) puts his 145-pound title on the line in a rematch against Emmanuel Sanchez (20-4 MMA, 12-3 BMMA). That fight also is a semifinal bout in Bellator’s ongoing featherweight tournament. The winner will move on to the final to meet A.J. McKee.

https://youtu.be/HLtboV1uGac

[vertical-gallery id=599880]

 

Scott Coker taking safe approach, doesn’t want to create a Bellator ‘super-spreader event’

Looking to take a safe approach, Scott Coker isn’t quite ready to have fans back to Bellator events just yet.

[mm-video type=video id=01f299t56szfzxj8y4 playlist_id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01eqvpqbw4ymnv0rjh image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f299t56szfzxj8y4/01f299t56szfzxj8y4-68cd1311a242722820bca660161b8b6b.jpg]

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Scott Coker isn’t quite ready to have fans back to Bellator events just yet.

Contrary to the UFC, which already has tickets on sale for full-capacity crowds in two upcoming pay-per-view events, Bellator president Coker wants to see how things pan out first.

UFC 261, which is headlined by a welterweight title rematch between champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal, takes place April 24 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The arena has a capacity of 15,000. UFC 262, headlined by a vacant lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira, takes place May 15 at Toyota Center in Houston.

But Coker, who was quick to adhere to the health and safety protocols when COVID-19 shutdowns first hit in March 2020, wants to continue taking a safe approach before bringing fans back.

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel now,” Coker told MMA Junkie. “We’re going to take a beat and see how things open up, not just in those two states or three states or five states that have opened up, but we’re going to wait to see how it opens up across the country. I think that because there is light at the end of the tunnel here and we see it, I want to make sure that we don’t just respond and do something that creates some super-spreader event.

“When it’s safe, we’ll go. This is a big company. There is a COVID task force that we adhere to. We’ll see what they say. We’ve already inquired about doing fights outside the ‘Sphere. They are looking into and making sure we’re heading in the right direction. Upon their guidance, we’ll decide what they do.”

After taking five months off due to the coronavirus outbreak, which included numerous canceled events, Bellator returned in July 2020 with Bellator 242 and has been holding its events at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The promotion created a “Fightsphere” there and implemented new testing protocols during fight week, which included swabs, screenings, quarantines and social distancing.

Bellator 255 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena and will be the promotion’s first event in 2021 – and also its first to air on Showtime in a new broadcast deal. The event also can be watched in full on MMA Junkie.

[listicle id=599964]

[vertical-gallery id=599880]

[vertical-gallery id=391998]