Bellator 188: “Lahat vs. Labiano” takes place November 16, 2017 (airing Nov. 17) at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel. The main event sees Featherweight hometown hero Noad Lahat (11-3) take on Jeremiah Labiano (11-5) as each seeks their third Bellator win.
Middleweight stud John Salter (14-3) will also be in action looking for his seventh straight win against hard hitting London “Assassin” Jason Radcliffe (12-4) while kickboxing sensation Denise Kielholtz (0-1) will look for her first MMA win against Jessica Middleton (2-2).
Bellator 188 will start at 9 p.m. ET on Spike TV with preliminary action on Spike.com at 7 p.m. ET. MMAmania.com will deliver results and play-by-play for the entirety of the Bellator MMA card.
Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action. Feel free to leave a comment (or 188) about the bouts and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it’s always a lot of fun!
BELLATOR 188 QUICK RESULTS:
Noad Lahat vs. Jeremiah Labiano — Lahat UD.
John Salter vs. Jason Radcliffe — Salter via sub (RNC) 1:55 R1.
Denise Kielholtz vs. Jessica Middleton — Kielholtz via sub (armbar) 1:16 R1.
Haim Gozali vs. Arsen Faitovich — Gozali via technical sub (triangle choke) 0:45 R1.
Oron Kahlon vs. Julian Maloku — Kahlon via sub (flying triangle) 2:08 R1.
Rami Abuhav vs. Alexander Nikulin — Nikulin KO 1:57 R1.
Francisco Silva vs. Shimon Gosh — Gosh UD.
Olga Rubin vs. Joana Filipa — Rubin TKO 3:46 R2.
Gad Abisror vs. Alexey Trofimov — ruled a no contest.
Luiz Rocha vs. Almog Shay — Rocha UD.
Natanel Parisi vs. Or Eliov — Parisi via sub (front choke) R1.
Adam Keresh vs. Roman Kushnir — Keresh TKO 3:06 R2.
Ivan Solomatov vs. Moshe Ben Chimol — Chimol via sub (armbar) 4:09 R1.
Erik Sianov vs. Matan Levi — Levi via majority decision.
Assaf Batan vs. Mor Attias — Batan via sub (RNC) 4:08 R3.
BELLATOR 188 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Noad Lahat vs. Jeremiah Labiano
Labiano enters in the black trunks and blue gloves with a record of 11-5 and he turns 31 years old on November 18th. Lahat enters in the red trunks and red gloves with a record of 11-3 and the Israeli Defense Forces veteran is 33 years old. Both men are 5’9” with a 69” reach. Labiano fights out of Hayward, California and Lahat fights out of San Jose, California. Our ref is Kevin MacDonald.
Round 1: Lahat takes the center immediately and the crowd chants his name as Labiano backs up. Labiano tells MacDonald that Labiano needs to watch the outstretched fingers. The two chuck shots at each other at 45 seconds before Lahat lands a leg kick. Lahat rushes in for a clinch at 1:10 trying to drag Labiano to the ground. Lahat knees Labiano’s legs but finally breaks the clinch at 1:52. Labiano keeps backpedaling as Lahat jabs. Lahat nails a hard leg kick at 2:35 and knocks Labiano off balance after an upkick. Lahat immediately jumps on top but Labiano recovers to gull guard before Lahat can pass. Lahat is complaining about fingers to the eye again. Labiano keeps the fight chest to chest so Lahat tries to slam him that way at 3:59. Lahat tries to stack Labiano up on his neck and slams him to the canvas again. Lahat wins this round 10-9.
Round 2: Labiano dares Lahat to meet him right in the center and bang. Lahat tries to clinch up with him at 23 seconds but instead drives an accidental knee to the cup that forces Kevin MacDonald to call time. Labiano recovers quickly and lands a nice right hook after the restart. The two men clinch up again and Lahat drives Labiano to the fence at 1:04. Lahat gets a takedown at 1:32 and is in half guard. Labiano is again playing defense but Lahat gets his left arm free and lands some nice shots. It turns into a chess match as each man tries to improve their position for a possible submission attempt. Labiano is grabbing the fence with his toes but MacDonald does seem to notice. Lahat gets a warning for a shot to the back of the head and the fight is stopped AGAIN. On the replay it looks like he was trying to elbow the right ear but hit the back of the head instead. Lahat has a cut over his right eye and is wiping away the blood with a hand. MacDonald signals a one point deduction to the judges and we continue on. Labiano goes for a single leg and Lahat goes for a foot lock. Labiano survives the round but it’s a 9-9 since it would have gone to Lahat without the deduction.
Round 3: Lahat opens R3 with a body kick. Labiano ducks under a right hook. Another one connects as Labiano backpedals. They clinch up and Labiano pushes Lahat into the fence. Lahat turns him around as his corner men call out advice from a couple of feet away, and Lahat gets a takedown at 1:29. Lahat is looking to pull his right knee through the guard for a full mount but Labiano is clinging to it for all he’s worth. Lahat gets the left arm free again to rain down damage. He momentarily had the pass but ended up back in half guard again a second later. MacDonald looks in close as the left hands smack Labiano’s face. He gets the right arm free and pounds away with body shots. MacDonald calls for more action at 3:53 and Lahat obliges by jumping up and throwing a right hand then getting back on Labiano. Labiano would like to get a triangle but Lahat senses each attempt and cuts it off at the pass. MacDonald stands them up with 10 seconds left to go and they swing at each other until the bell.
Final result: Noad Lahat wins the fight via unanimous decision.
John Salter vs. Jason Radcliffe
The 12-4 Radcliffe enters wearing blue gloves with black and white trunks. Salter has the white trunks and red gloves and is 14-3 for this fight. Both men are 6’1”, 186 pounds, and 32 years old. Radcliffe fights out of Thailand and hails from London, England. Salter hails from Gardendale, Alabama and fights out of Wilmington, North Carolina. Our ref is Michael Bell.
Round 1: Gloves are tapped and we are underway. Radcliffe lands the first leg kick. Salter starts to inch forward and Radcliffe shifts back and forth on the outer circle. Radcliffe stuffs an initial shoot for a takedown but Salter is not giving up and gets Radcliffe down to his knees at the one minute mark and eventually sucks out his legs and works his way to the back at 1:24 with one hook in. He’s throwing shots to the head from behind and trying to open Radcliffe up for the rear naked choke. He’s got the tap at 1:55.
Final result: John Salter wins via submission (RNC) at 1:55 of the first round.
Denise Kielholtz vs. Jessica Middleton
Middleton has a 2-2 record and is wearing the pink trunks and blue gloves for tonight’s fight. Kielholtz has on the black trunks and red gloves, and is 0-1 so far in MMA. Middleton is five inches taller than Kielholtz at 5’7” and weighs 125 pounds even, fighting out of Wichita, Kansas. Middleton weighs 125.25 and fights out of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Todd Anderson is our ref.
Round 1: A respectful tap of gloves starts is out. Middleton pushes forward with her size advantage and Kielholtz wings out hard hooks that connect. Middleton has had enough of that and tries to clinch up but Kielholtz judo throws her to the ground. She’s fishing for a submission and once the opportunity opens she locks on an armbar lightning quick for the tap.
Final result: Denise Kielholtz wins by submission (armbar) at 1:16 in the first round.
Haim Gozali vs. Arsen Faitovich
Faitovich enters in the blue gloves and black trunks with a 4-1 record. Home country favorite Gozali has the red gloves and blue trunks with a pro record of 7-4 and a is a 4th degree black belt under Renzo Gracie. He’s also got his own entourage singing and rapping his entrance song. Gozali is 44 and Faitovich is 24. Faitovich is 6’2”, four inches taller than Gozali, and he fights out of Lviv, Ukraine. Gozali hails from Israel. Our referee in charge is Bryan Miner.
Round 1: Faitovich rushes to the center and lands a kick to the right leg. Gozali rushes toward him and Faitovich drops levels for a takedown. Gozali pulls his legs up around Faitovich’s back for the triangle and just like that Faitovich goes out!!
Final result: Haim Gozali wins via technical submission (triangle choke) at 0:45 of the first round.
Oron Kahlon vs. Julian Maloku
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Kahlon wins via submission (flying triangle) at 2:08 of round one.
Rami Abuhav vs. Alexander Nikulin
Bonus fight action on Spike TV! 5’8”, 183 pounds, Abuhav is 0-0. Nikulin is 6’3”, 184 pounds, and he’s 2-0. Both fighters are from Israel. Our referee is Bryan Miner.
Round 1: Nikulin has on the red gloves and Abuhav the blue. Nikulin is pressing Abuhav toward the outside circle early with his height and reach advantage. Abuhav tentatively tries to push his way into range, keeping his right hand high and pawing with the left. Nikulin patiently walks toward his opponent looking for an opening. Nikulin throws a combo and then one GIANT right hand that drops Abuhav and almost immediately ends the fight.
Final result: Nikulin wins via knockout at 1:57 of round one.
Francisco Silva vs. Shimon Gosh
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Gosh wins via unanimous decision. No scorecards are available.
Olga Rubin vs. Joana Filipa
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Rubin wins via technical knockout at 3:46 of round two.
Gad Abisror vs. Alexey Trofimov
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: This fight ends in a no contest due to an accidental groin kick.
Luiz Rocha vs. Almog Shay
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Rocha wins via unanimous decision. No scorecards are available.
Natanel Parisi vs. Or Eliov
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Parisi wins via submission (front choke) in round one.
Adam Keresh vs. Roman Kushnir
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Keresh wins via technical knockout at 3:06 of round two.
Ivan Solomatov vs. Moshe Ben Chimol
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Shimol wins via submission (armbar) at 4:09 of round one.
Erik Sianov vs. Matan Levi
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Levi wins via majority decision. No scorecards are available.
Assaf Batan vs. Mor Attias
Round 1: Unaired on Spike.com.
Final result: Batan wins via sub (rear naked choke) at 4:08 of round three.