It will be a U.S. vs. Russia final in the Bellator season seven welterweight tournament.
American Lyman Good and Russian Andrey Koreshkov punched their tickets to the finals with respective TKO victories, setting up a future matchup between them.
Both wins came with some controversy, though for very different reasons.
Good won his fight after his opponent MIchail Tsarev claimed he was poked in the eye, but referee Greg Franklin did not see it and allowed the fight to continue. Good finished him with strikes immediately afterward. Replays made it unclear whether Tsarev was actually poked.
The Koreshkov fight was decisive, but ref Jerry Poe appeared to let it go on too long, with Koreshkov hammering opponent Marius Zaromskis multiple times while Zaromskis appeared defenseless.
Despite it, Good and Koreshkov should make for an intriguing final.
“Lyman is a great fighter,” Koreshkov said. “It’s going to be a very exciting fight and let the strongest [man] win.”
Koreshkov’s performance was probably the standout of the night, as he flashed his knockout power and finishing instincts in the win.
The end came in a flash for the Strikeforce veteran Zaromskis, who was badly hurt by a stinging left hook and fell against the cage. Koreshkov immediately pounced, firing off a series of unanswered left hands that landed in succession. Zaromskis seemed out of it but the referee was slow on the stoppage, finally stepping in after over a dozen blows.
The official time of the finish was 2:14.
The win kept Koreshkov unbeaten, as he improved to 12-0 with 11 finishes.
Meanwhile, despite the controversy of the Good-Tsarev fight, Good (14-2) was in control for most of the way, easily winning the first round before the finish.
In Koreshkov, Good will be facing Tsarev’s teammate, an interesting subplot to the final.
Meanwhile, featherweight Daniel Straus pushed his win streak to five straight. While Straus won Bellator’s season six tournament, he decided to stay busy rather than wait to cash in his title shot, taking on former UFC fighter Alvin Robinson.
The risk paid off, as Straus earned a finish win with a second-round rear naked choke submission.
The finishing sequence began with a suplex takedown with about 90 seconds left in the round. Straus worked from Robinson’s back, and in the final seconds, Robinson tried to get to his feet and left his neck unprotected just long enough for Straus to sink in the choke.
Straus (21-4) will now await the winner of the upcoming featherweight title fight between Pat Curran and Patricio Freire.
In a middleweight feature bout, Brian Rogers rebounded from an April loss to defeat Dominique Steele, winning a unanimous decision by a sweep of 30-27 scores.
Rogers (10-4) put forth a strong effort all the way through the 15-minute bout, and had his best sequence in the third when he staggered Steele with a thundering right hand and followed with a barrage of strikes that had his opponent in trouble. Rogers landed several but Steele somehow held up to the firepower and made it to the final horn.
Afterward, Rogers, who is expected to take part in the next Bellator middleweight tournament, put the rest of the division on notice.
“If it’s a tournament fight, I’m getting the finish,” he said. “Everyone knows who the most exciting fighter in the middleweight division is, and it’s me. And now I’m becoming the most consistent. I’m a nightmare for you guys out there.”