Alessio Sakara grabbed a first-round knock-out win over Joey Beltran at Bellator 168 on Saturday, impressing the fans in Florence, Italy with a solid performance.
After a cagey start and an accidental eye poke, Sakara opened up and landed a great right hook that just about finished the fight.
Earlier in the night, Goiti Yamauchi completed a stunning comeback against Valeriu Mircea. In addition, Ed Ruth dominated Emanuele Palombi, Kleber Raimundo Silva shocked Philipe Lins, and John Salter cruised to a win against Claudio Annicchiarico.
Here’s a look at the results from Bellator 168.
Alessio Sakara defeats Joey Beltran
In the main event, Beltran was determined to set the pace early, but an accidental eye poke from Sakara took away his momentum. The referee missed the incident, but Sakara showed great sportsmanship, immediately stopping his assault.
Following a short break, the action continued. Sakara wobbled Beltran with a right hook and sent him to the canvas with several shots to the body. Beltran covered up but didn’t fight back, and the referee quickly signaled the end of the bout.
Per Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow, Beltran hasn’t looked himself in some time:
While Beltran didn’t put up much of a fight, Saturday’s win was Sakara’s most impressive in Bellator yet and will only aid his standing in the light heavyweight division.
Goiti Yamauchi submits Valeriu Mircea
Yamauchi barely survived an early-round knockdown against Mircea, coming from behind to submit his opponent.
The 23-year-old prodigy took a massive shot that dropped him to the canvas, and Mircea delivered some brutal ground-and-pound that appeared to have his opponent out for a second. Yamauchi recovered in time, however, and two attempts at an armbar submission halted Mircea’s momentum.
The Moldovan slammed his opponent hard twice, but Yamauchi eventually worked himself to top position and locked in the triangle, forcing Mircea to tap. Spike Sports loved it:
Yamauchi now has back-to-back wins following his decision defeat against Bubba Jenkins.
Ed Ruth overwhelms Emanuele Palombi
Ruth took this fight on short notice, but the talented prospect easily took care of Palombi in the first round. The wrestling standout took his opponent down inside of 30 seconds and started unloading as soon as he had the full mount, forcing the referee to stop the fight inside two minutes.
The winner took the time to address the fans, per Bellator’s official Twitter account:
Just 26 years old, Ruth appears to have a huge future in the sport. He made his debut in November, but back-to-back impressive performances will do wonders for his standing in the middleweight division.
Kleber Raimundo Silva beats Philipe Lins
Silva was the aggressor early, but Lins showed great accuracy and timing with his counter-punching and took full advantage of his opponent’s tendency to drop his hands after throwing a punch.
As Bellator’s official Twitter account shared, both men were willing to let loose:
Lins did some damage with his kicks, and a late bit of pressure likely won him Round 1.
Silva appeared to be in trouble midway through the second round, eating a hard punch and covering up, but he got back to his feet and landed a decisive blow in a furious rally. Lins was out but not yet going to the ground, and the referee made the right decision to stop the fight before more damage could be done.
John Salter defeats Claudio Annicchiarico
In the first bout of the night, Salter didn’t need much time to lengthen his win streak, beating local favourite Annicchiarico inside one round.
The 31-year-old shot for a takedown after just 19 seconds and immediately took a commanding top position, hitting his opponent with a barrage of fists.
As Bellator’s official Twitter account showed, it didn’t take long for the referee to call the fight:
Salter has now won his last five fights inside the distance, as he tries to work his way toward middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho.
Per MMAjunkie’s Mike Bohn, Carvalho was supposed to face Melvin Manhoef in a rematch in Italy, but injury forced him off the card.
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