Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s debut was the selling point for Bellator 108, but there were a number of memorable fights on Friday night at the Revel in Atlantic City.
Jackson made relatively quick work of Joey “Mexicutioner” Beltran. A hard left hand and a follow-up right hand dropped Beltran, and Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight at 4:59 of the first round. Rampage won’t win any style points and he probably won’t beat a fighter with a diverse game, but his return to competition couldn’t have gone much better.
In a vintage Rampage post-fight interview, the charismatic Jackson said: “I’m finna start back slammin folks.” What could be better?
Here’s a look at the results and a closer look at the bouts televised live on Spike.
Justin Wilcox vs. Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire: Featherweight Tournament Final
This fight wasn’t even close. Pitbull was just too powerful for Wilcox. He landed three very hard punches, and each of them buckled Wilcox’s knees. The last standing shot sent Wilcox to the mat. Pitbull took his back and rained down hammer fists until his opponent was lying flat on his belly.
The fight was stopped, and Pitbull‘s domination was complete. He took the featherweight tournament for the second time in his career and is now set up for a bout with current champion Daniel Straus. Pitbull already owns a win over Straus, so he has to feel good bout his chances of winning the title.
Pitbull improved his record to 21-2, and Wilcox dropped to 13-6.
Marcos Galvao vs. Tom McKenna
Galvao‘s win was even more dominant than Freire‘s. Known primarily for his punching power, Galvao showed stellar Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He didn’t make McKenna submit, but he controlled the fight with top position and awesome ground-and-pound.
He punished McKenna the entire round and proved he was the most dominant competitor in the cage. The 32-year-old Brazilian improved to 15-6 and McKenna fell to 7-4.
(c) Alexander Volkov vs. Vitaly Minakov: Bellator Heavyweight Championship
It didn’t take long for Minakov to take Volkov‘s title. In the very first round, he wrecked the champion with a hard right-hand uppercut. The shot dropped Volkov, and Minakov wasted no time getting on top of his fallen foe.
Minakov began firing punches, and Mirigliotta stopped the bout. It seemed as though the end was a bit premature, but there is little doubt Minakov would win it ultimately.
He is now set to face Season 9 tournament winner Cheick Kongo in his first defense. Minakov remains undefeated at 13-0 and Volkov drops to 19-4.
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