Bellator 288 took place last night and we’ve got all the results for you below.
In the main event Vadim Nemkov won Bellator’s light-heavyweight grand-prix, winning $1 million and retaining his title in the process with a unanimous decision win over Corey Anderson.
Nemkov had great success shutting down Anderson’s numerous takedowns throughout the fight to force the title challenger into a striking battle.
And Nemkov took advantage of that by getting the better of the stand-up action, including dropping Anderson with a wheel kick late in the first round. His low kicks also paid off, with Anderson’s leg eventually giving way in the fourth round after one well placed calf kick, though he soldiered on until the end of the fight without being able to turn the tide.
So, Nemkov won unanimously (48-47, 49-46 x2) and it’s now confirmed that his next title challenger will be Yoel Romero at Bellator 290 in February of next year.
Meanwhile, in the co-main event a new Bellator lightweight champion was crowned when Usman Nurmagomedov convincingly beat Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire by unanimous decision.
A cousin of legendary UFC fighter Khabib and brother of current UFC bantamweight Umar, the 24-year-old Usman Nurmagomedov took control of the early striking exchanges in the first round and early in the second with a kick-heavy strategy, before securing a takedown and landing ground-and-pound.
Nurmagomedov continued to get the better of the fairly uneventful action on the feet in the third and fourth rounds, before Freire finally came out swinging in the last round, only to be taken down where he’d keep control for much of the round to ensure he’d earn a clean sweep on the scorecards (50-45, 50-44 x2) and be crowned lightweight champion.
Check out all the Bellator 288 results below.
Vadim Nemkov def. Corey Anderson via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Usman Nurmagomedov def. Patricky Freire via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-44)
Timur Khizriev def. Daniel Weichel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Daniel James def. Tyrell Fortune via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 0:27
Levan Chokheli def. Roman Faraldo via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Imamshafi Aliev def. Sean Fallon via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 3:20
Killys Mota def. Jairo Pacheco via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Archie Colgan def. Jesse Hannam via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:50
Sullivan Cauley def. Jay Radick via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:01
Jordan Newman def. Jayden Taulker via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:20
Laird Anderson def. Rob Fenicle via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:28
Isaiah Hokit def. Matias Nader via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:48
Wladmir Gouvea def. Kory Moegenburg via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:46
