Bellator 275 results and highlights: Mousasi smokes Vanderford with quick TKO

Check out the results and highlights from the Bellator 275 main card, where Gegard Mousasi dusted Austin Vanderford to retain his middleweight title.

Bellator 275 just wrapped up with an electric crowd from Dublin, Ireland with two finishes and three decisions. One of those finishes occurred in the main event when middleweight champion, Gegard Mousasi, quickly stopped Austin Vanderford with a first-round TKO. Mousasi did damage with is punches first, and then got on top to finish off his foe with ground and pound. This is the second straight title defense for the great Gegard, who is now in need of a new challenger.

Before that, Sinead Kavanagh showed off a tremendous amount of grit when she overcame a knee injury in the third to survive and win a unanimous decision over Leah McCourt. Kavanagh was down to one leg, but still managed to make it out of the match without quitting, or being stopped. The broadcast announced that Bellator president Scott Coker stated that Sinead will now get a rematch with featherweight champ, Cris Cyborg. She will likely need to get her knee checked out before any of that, though.

Also on the main card, Ireland got another win when Ciaran Clarke picked up an injury TKO over Abou Tounkara before the start of the second round. Tounkara failed to get off of the stool before the second round because of what appeared to be a shoulder injury. The first round involved some scrappy scrambles, so it’s a shame it had to end the way it did. Nonetheless, Bellator’s home grown talent in Clarke is now 5-0.

Khasan Magomedsharipov, 21-year-old brother of Zabit Magomedsharipov, dominated Jose Sanchez on the ground to pick up a unanimous decision. Khasan flowed atop his opponent, surfing and staying in control while dropping a reasonable amount of strikes. Magomedsharipov extends his young record to 7-0.

Opening up the main card, Jornel Lugo won a unanimous decision over Ireland’s own Brian Moore. The first-two rounds were rather lackluster, but things picked nicely up in the third. Lugo remains undefeated and advances his record to 8-0.

Main card:

Gegard Mousasi def. Austin Vanderford by TKO at 1:25 of round 1: Middleweight Title

Mousasi came out working his hands, touching Vanderford with some clean boxing. Vanderford began shooting a desperation takedown, but Mousasi sprawled and got on top and then started dropping all sorts of punishment. The referee was right there to rescue Austin from any further damage.

Sinead Kavanagh def. Leah McCourt by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28): (W) Featherweight

It didn’t take very long for McCourt to sniff out a takedown and put Kavanagh on her back. Kavanagh used a Kimura lock to sweep on top, and then cranked on the arm. Somehow, McCourt escape to her feet, but ate a couple of punches for her troubles. Kavanagh’s knee gave out on her in open space to begin the second round, possibly from an injury. The fight then went back on the inside, with Kavanagh finding top position again. This time, McCourt was the one looking for a Kimura, but it wasn’t nearly as tight as what Kavanagh had in the first. Kavanagh stumbled again, allowing McCourt to get on top until the bell.

The final frame saw Kavanagh hobble on one leg, doing her best to stay in the fight. McCourt kicked at the leg, and ended up getting on top. She controlled, but wasn’t able to finish a one-legged opponent. Kavanagh actually got on top as McCourt rolled to attack the injured leg, and pounded away until the bell. Low Fi-Q from McCourt and tremendous grit from Kavanagh.

Ciaran Clarke def. Abou Tounkara by TKO at 5:00 of round 1: Featherweight

Clarke came out trying to force a takedown, but Tounkara was ready for him. Tounkara was staying vertical, and even found himself on the back at one point. Clarke did scramble out and on top, and dropped some nice elbows to the body before the bell. Tounkara never answers the bell for the second round, due to what appeared to be some sort of shoulder injury.

Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Jose Sanchez by unanimous (30-26, 30-27 x2): Featherweight

Sanchez shoved Magomedsharipov up against the cage right away, looking to stay on the inside. Magomedsharipov was defending well against the takedown, but was having to work hard to do so. Whenever Khasan would escape into open space, Jose would just get right back in his face. Ultimately, it was Magomedsharipov who got a takedown to enjoy a little top position.

The fighters cliched up to begin the second round, and Magomedsharipov landed some piercing knees to the body. He then hit another takedown and proceeded to grind on Sanchez. He was dropping plenty of strikes as he controlled from the top, in what was a completely dominant round. Magomedsharipov returned to his wrestling, and dominance, in the third round. Sanchez was unable to find any separation, so he got smeshed.

Jornel Lugo def. Brian Moore by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Bantamweight

After a bit of back and forth on the feet, the fight drifted into the clinch. From there, the fighters jockeyed for position for awhile, until the referee started warning them to get busy. They broke apart and Lugo took the center, throwing out several naked head kicks to keep Moore on the outside. Nothing flush was really landing for either man, aside from a cup kick from Lugo.

The second stanza started with more clinch grappling against the cage, before the sticky striking match continued. Then, an eye poke from Lugo brought another pause in what was already a slow fight. Things picked up a little bit towards the end of the round, with both men launching more volume.

Lugo started strong in the last round, staggering Moore with a big shot in the opening sequence. Moore answered the call and started to pressure Lugo, moving his head in search for an effective entry to unleash his punches. Lugo was trying to cut him off with jabs and body kicks, staying on his back foot with his back to the cage.

Prelims:

• Brett Johns def. Khurshed Kakhorov by KO at 3:00 of round 3: Bantamweight
• Davy Gallon def. Charlie Leary by KO at 3:01 of round 2: Lightweight
• Stephanie Page def. Danni McCormack by KO at 1:40 of round 1: Strawweight
• Darragh Kelly def. Junior Morgan by submission (Guillotine) at 1:47 of round 1: Lightweight
• Vladimir Tokov def. Daniele Scatizzi by unanimous decision: Lightweight
• Gokhan Saricam def. Kirill Sidelnikov by unanimous decision: Heavyweight
• Nathan Kelly def. Scott Pedersen by unanimous decision: Featherweight
• Lee Hammond def. Jamie Hay by KO at 3:32 of round 1