On Friday evening, many matches took place in Bellator and lots of news was announced. BloodyElbow.com is here to round it all up for you.
Bellator 153 took place live from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut on Friday, April 22 and marked the promotional debut for former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Smooth fought welterweight titleholder Andrey Koreshkov but was dominated for five rounds, losing by upset decision. You can check out BloodyElbow.com’s play-by-play of the main card here, and post-fight results, analysis and highlights here.
The debut Bellator Kickboxing event aired on Spike TV directly following Bellator 153. It was a tape-delay from last weekend at the Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy. In the main event, Alexandru Negrea upset veteran Melvin Manhoef by unanimous decision. Fan-favorite Raymond Daniels was also featured on the card and scored a brutal finish early in the first round. Check out the full results below:
- Alexandru Negrea def. Melvin Manhoef via Unanimous Decision (30-25, 29-26, 29-26)
- Raymond Daniels def. Francesco Moricca via TKO (Kick) at :30 of Round 1
- Karim Ghajji def. Mustapha Haida via Split Decision (50-44, 50-44, 46-48)
- Denise Kielholtz def. Veronica Vernocchi via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
- Kevin Ross def. Matteo Taccini via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
After Michael Page finished Jeremie Holloway in the Bellator 153 main card opener on Friday evening, a fight between Page and streaking contender Fernando Gonzalez was made official for Bellator 158 later this summer.
Page (10-0) is one of the hottest prospects in mixed martial arts today. The undefeated 29-year old has finished all but one of his 10 opponents in the first round. Prior to the Holloway submission win, Venom picked up knockouts over Charlie Ontiveros and Rudy Bears last year.
Gonzalez (25-13) is currently riding a five-fight winning streak. In his most recent outing, he defeated Gilbert Smith in a close decision at Bellator 151 in March. He tested out the waters in kickboxing at Bellator 142: Dynamite 1 last year but suffered a loss to Paul Daley.
Also booked for Bellator 158 is a light heavyweight matchup between Linton Vassell and Francis Carmont.
Vassell (16-5) competed in the Bellator light heavyweight tournament last September but suffered a decision loss to Muhammed Lawal in the opening round. He recently rebounded from that loss to King Mo with an upset win over former champion Emanuel Newton earlier this year.
Carmont (24-11) was released by the UFC in 2014 after three consecutive losses and picked up two straight wins over Guilherme Viana and Anthony Ruiz, both by unanimous decision, after being signed to Bellator. He filled in for the injured King Mo in the finals of the one-night tournament at Bellator 142 and suffered a devastating knockout loss to Phil Davis.
Bellator 158 takes place live from The O2 in London, England on July 16. In the main event, Kimbo Slice meets James Thompson. Also on the card, rivals Paul Daley and Josh Koscheck square off for the second time.
And the final bit of news that was announced on Friday night’s broadcast: former UFC heavyweight contender Matt Mitrione is scheduled to debut under the Bellator banner against Carl Seumanutafa in the co-main event of Bellator 157: Dynamite 2.
Mitrione (9-5) inked a deal with Bellator last month after fighting out his UFC contract to test the free agency waters. He suffered a controversial TKO loss to Travis Browne at UFC Fight Night 81 this past January and before that, was submitted by Ben Rothwell. Prior to the pair of losses, Meathead picked up three consecutive wins including an impressive TKO over veteran Gabriel Gonzaga at the end of 2014. Outside of the cage, Mitrione partnered up with Bellator commentator Sean Grande to commentate the Bellator Kickboxing debut event.
Seumanutafa (10-6) is a veteran heavyweight who made his Bellator debut this past January and picked up a win over Javy Ayala.
Bellator 157 takes place live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO on June 24. In the main event, light heavyweight contender Quinton Jackson faces Satoshi Ishii.