Douglas Lima avenged his 2015 defeat to Andrey Koreshkov on Thursday in Tel Aviv, Israel. The 28-year-old Brazilian knocked Koreshkov out to win the welterweight world title in the main event at Bellator 164.
Fifteen bouts made up the Bellator 164 card, with the four main card fights set to air on tape delay Friday night at 9 p.m. ET.
Below is a list of the results:
When Lima and Koreshkov first met, the former was returning from an injury layoff that lasted over a year. Koreshkov captured the welterweight belt in a unanimous-decision win.
Now that he’s back to 100 percent, Lima said Wednesday he knew he could take down the 26-year-old Russian, per Christian Stein of MMAjunkie:
Everyone who trained with me knows I fought hurt. But that’s fine. It’s all behind me now. I fought, lost, and now I’m making up for lost time.
Thankfully I’m very healthy, training well, and highly confident going into this rematch. We expect a good fight. It will be a hard fight, but without a doubt, I’ll come out on top.
I’m ready and I’m healthy. I’m getting my belt back.
Lima delivered on his prediction.
With Koreshkov backing him against the cage, Lima countered with a vicious left hook that sent Koreshkov to the canvas. From there, he delivered three more blows to an unprotected Koreshkov before the referee called the fight.
Josh Sanchez of Campus Sports Net thoroughly enjoyed the main event:
Also on the main card, Noad Lahat was victorious in his Bellator debut, defeating Scott Cleve via submission. Winning in Tel Aviv was extra special for the Israeli-born star. It’s the third time he has fought in the city, and he’s prevailed each time. Lahat will likely ask Bellator to make another stop in Tel Aviv before long.
In the women’s flyweight division, Lena Ovchynnikova moved her record to 11-4 with a unanimous-decision win over Karla Benitez. It was a convincing performance and exactly what Ovchynnikova needed after her defeat to Rebecca Ruth at Bellator 150 in February.
Rounding out the main card, Georgi Karakhanyan and Kirill Medvedovsky’s bout came to an abrupt end after Medvedovsky suffered a shoulder injury in the first round. It was the second straight loss for Medvedovsky, who fell to Magomed Ginazov in March.
Karakhanyan, meanwhile, will begin looking toward bigger and better things. In an interview with MMA Weekly’s Mick Hammond, Karakhanyan said he’s strongly considering moving up to the lightweight division, mentioning Josh Thomson and Melvin Guillard as potential opponents.
While Thursday’s win wasn’t the most resounding of Karakhanyan’s career, it should provide him with more momentum as he looks to take a step up in his next fight.
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