Bellator 231 results and highlights: Mir beats Nelson in stinker

Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports

Check out the results and highlights from the Bellator 231 main card, where Frank Mir won a unanimous nod over Roy Nelson in the main event.

Bellator 231 is in the books and Frank Mir just took a unanimous decision over Roy Nelson. It was the inside leg kicks that were the key to victory. He kept Nelson out of rhythm and successfully avoided the big knockout punch that Roy possesses. This is Mir’s first Bellator win and also snaps a four-fight losing skid.

In the co-main event slot, Bellator’s former light heavyweight champ, Phil Davis, gave promotional newcomer Karl Albrektsson all he could handle. Davis dropped Karl in the second round, and then poured it on in the final frame. After hurting his foe to the body, Davis got the takedown and punched away until the referee stepped in. In his post-fight interview, Phil called for another light heavyweight tournament.

Despite getting rocked in the first and dropped in the third, three time collegiate national champion, Ed Ruth, squeaked by Jason Jackson with a split decision. Agree with the result or not, Ruth moves to 8-1 in his professional MMA career. Making her return to MMA, Bec Rawlings had a rough go against Bellator newcomer Ilara Joanne. Despite the bare knuckle boxing experience, it was Joanne who was landing all of the quality strikes. She then took the fight to the floor, and ultimately pulled off a slick kneebar to secure the tap.

Opening up the main card, Jake Hager seemed to be off to a solid start in his third professional MMA match against Anthony Garrett, but a pair of knees to the groin in the first round caused the bout to be waived off. The illegal blows were deemed unintentional, therefore the match was ruled a no contest. In a notable prelim matchup, Virginia Military Institute graduate, and the first ever female regimental executive officer commissioned in the U.S. Army, Elise Reed successfully mad her professional debut against Rebecca Bryggman. Reed looked sharp from jump street, landing all the volume and ultimately overwhelming her opponent to score the standing TKO in the first round.

**See complete results below

Main Card:

Frank Mir def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Heavyweight

Mir showed up to fight with a pocket full of inside leg kicks. Over and over again he was able to hit his mark. Nelson was trying to back up Mir to the fence and land his major right hand, but struggled to connect. Mir stuck with his inside leg attack in the second round. The effective strike kept Nelson off balance and started to add up. Roy actually took a second to walk off the pain form one of them. Nelson just couldn’t find his rhythm. Nelson started to land more in the third round. He was able to bloody the nose of Mir, and ate a lot fewer inside leg kicks. Roy scored himself a slamming takedown at the end of the round and landed some ground strikes before the bell.

Phil Davis def. Karl Albrektsson by TKO at 3:06 of round 3: Light Heavyweight

The action got underway right from the beginning. Albrektsson backed up Phil landing inside leg kicks. Davis started pumping his jab and landing counter lefts. They were both pumping jabs, but it was Phil who was getting in the better licks. The second round saw Davis come up with a big knockdown off of a right hand. Albrektsson recovered rather quickly, but Davis switched to his wrestling and started to grind away. Karl struggled with the grappling, and ate some savage knees to the body on the ground.

Davis kept up the tempo in the final round. He hurt Karl to the body, which caused the Swede to backpedal. Davis came in with a heavy left hand that jarred Albrektsson, and then started to pour it on. Davis got the takedown and began to land a plethora of ground strikes. Eventually the referee had seen enough and called off the fight.

Ed Ruth def. Jason Jackson by split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29): Welterweight

Jackson came out pumping his jab looking light on his feet. Ruth was looking to kick the body, but was countered with leg kicks a couple of times. Then, Jackson stung Ruth with a right hand that wobbled the collegiate wrestler. Ruth recovered and scored a brief takedown, but gave away that opening round.

Ruth brought the pressure in the second round. He kept his opponent on his heels, but Jackson did a solid job of countering and moving. Ruth failed at his takedown attempts in the second act, and also struggled to land meaningful offense. In the final frame, Jackson dropped Ruth with a massive right hand. Ed was quick to recover and continue with his terminator like pressure. Jackson did a strong job of sticking and moving, making Ruth miss a bunch. Ed finally scored a takedown, and started to grind on Jackson with a rinse and repeat style.

Ilara Joanne def. Bec Rawlings by submission (kneebar) at 3:35 of round 2: (W) Flyweight

Joanne started hot! She got right in Rawlings’ face landing had punches. She then shifted phases and put Bec on her back. Rawlings was able to gain full guard, but gave up ample top control time to her adversary. The second round saw Joanne land a buckling leg kick that sent Bec back down to the floor. She took top position and slowly advanced her position, find the back. Rawlings scrambled out and took the back of her opponent, but Ilara rolled for a kneebar and pulled it off!

Jake Hager vs. Anthony Garrett was ruled a no contest at 1:56 of round 1: Heavyweight

Hager came out looking to strike at first, but quickly went to his clinch. He then broke away and grabbed ahold of the Thai plum, where he began to land knees to the body. Unfortunately, a knee landed below the belt, causing a pause to the action. Upon the restart, Garrett shot in for a takedown of his own but got stuffed. Hager then landed another heavyweight knee to the cup, causing Garrett to fall to the floor in agony. The doctor stepped in the cage to check out the injured fighter, and the match was then called off.

Prelims:

• Phumi Nkuta def. Adrian Hall by unanimous decision: Flyweight
• Connor Dixon def. Orkhan Ismatzade by submission (Kimura) at :42 of round 1: Welterweight
• Killys Mota def. v by TKO at 1:16 of round 3: Lightweight
• Jessy Miele def. Talita Nogueira by split decision: (W) Featherweight
• Steve Mowry def. Gokhan Saricam by submission (Kimura) at :56 of round 2: Heavyweight

• Dalton Rosta def. Claude Wilcox by TKO at 4:23 of round 2: Light Heavyweight

• Tim Caron def. Lucas Pimenta by unanimous decision: Middleweight
• Jon Manley def. Thiago Oliveira by unanimous decision: Welterweight
• Elise Reed def. Rebecca Bryggman by TKO at 4:48 of round 1: Atomweight