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Round 1
Hill (4-0, 0-0 Bellator) puts his unbeaten record on the line
against Fusi (8-6, 1-1 Bellator), who enters the match on a
two-fight losing streak and in search of his first win since May
2019. Bell once again serves as the referee. Hill shoots for an
immediate takedown and settles for the clinch. He connects with
some knees to the inside of Fusi’s leg, holds him along the fence
and secures double underhooks. Hill lowers his center of gravity,
delivers a takedown and seeks to consolidate those efforts with
positional control. Fusi builds his base and gets back to his feet,
only to be returned to the mat. Hill postures inside the Italian’s
open guard and chips away with punches to the body. Fusi again
returns to his feet but fails to create the space necessary to get
himself of the cage. Hill blends some knees to the legs with foot
stomps, fires hooks to the body and resets in open space before
shooting in and securing another takedown. Fuci maneuvers his way
to a brief guillotine attempt, then releases his hands when the
choke fails to materialize. 10-9 Hill
Round 2
Hill crowds his counterpart with kicks, retreats under duress and
lures Fusi back into the clinch. He peppers him with short-range
knees and punches, along the fence, before connecting with a knee
south of the equator. Bell pauses the action to give Fusi time to
recover. They get back to business after a brief respite, as Hill
snatches a single-leg, sheds a weak attempt at a guillotine and
passes to side control behind standing-to-ground-punches in the
center of the cage. The situation seems to be deteriorating for
Fuci. The SBG Ireland rep reclaims half guard but continues to eat
damage, courtesy of shoulder strikes and elbows from Hill. The Brit
works his way to Fuci’s back, transitions to side control and
climbs to full mount with a little more than a minute remaining in
the round. Fuci turns away from contact and gets to a crouched
position, but Hill is relentless. He moves on top and unleashes
punches and elbows. 10-9 Hill
Round 3
Fusi needs a stoppage as the third round arrives. Hill pumps out a
one-two, followed by a leg kick and backs the Italian to the fence
before moving back to the center of the cage. A left hook to the
body forces a fading Fusi backward for a moment. The John Kavanaugh
protégé shows no signs of upping his output as time continues to
tick away. Hill paws with a jab and looks increasingly comfortable
on the feet. He cuts off an advance with a takedown, pushes Fusi to
the mat and hammers away with ground-and-pound. The writing seems
to be on the wall in this one. Blood now streaming from his face,
Fusi eats repeated short left hands and knees to the legs. Hill
moves to the back with one hook in and begins to snake his left arm
around the neck for a potential choke. Fusi dodges the submission,
but Hill cracks him with lefts, carries him to the center of the
cage and deposits him to the mat. Hill continues to hunt the
submission, then settles for more ground-and-pound as the horn
sounds. 10-9 Hill (30-27 Hill)
The Official Result
Steven Hill def. Andrea Fusi—Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-27,
30-26)
Round 1
Solli (3-1, 2-1 Bellator) carries the SBG Ireland flag ahead of his
pairing with the 6-foot-4 Camara (5-1, 1-0 Bellator). Referee Bryan
Miner presides over the encounter. Solli fires off a leg kick,
follows with a burst of punches and closes the distance before
clinching along the fence. Solli drags the Frenchman to the canvas,
sets up shop in full guard and hunts for openings. The Italian
progresses to half guard and delivers elbows to the head but allows
Camara to escape to his feet. He slips behind Solli following a
failed head-and-arm through and seizes control for the first time.
Camara mixes in short punches, then cuts loose with left hands,
utilizing his long arms. Solli mostly stays out of danger and
initiates a scramble, as the two men grind to a halt on the cage.
10-9 Solli
Round 2
The hyperaggressive Solli once again punches into clinch range but
falls to his back on an ill-conceived takedown attempt. Camara
slips out of an attempted armbar, scores with hammerfists and
applies pressure from top position. Not much unfolds, as the action
slows to a crawl. Miner warns Solli more than once about hooking
his toes in the cage. Camara drops a few short elbows while
defending another armbar, pancakes downward and stalls. Solli locks
up an armbar just as the horn sounds, perhaps saving Camara from
real danger. 10-9 Camara
Round 3
Solli presses into clinch range but fails to corral Camara and
winds up in open space. He connects with an accidental kick to the
groin that results in a brief pause. They trade kicks to the body
upon the restart, and Camara cuts off an attempted takedown while
pushing Solli into the cage. They jockey for position along the
fence, with neither man gaining a discernible advantage. Halfway
through the round, the outcome remains in doubt. Camara uses his
height and leverage to keep the SBG Ireland rep bottled up in close
quarters. Miner restarts them with 90 seconds to go. Solli clips
the Frenchman with a right hook, sprawls on a takedown and works
his way to the back. He sinks the rear-naked choke, but his failure
to secure position with his hooks allows Camara to escape. With 30
seconds remaining, they are back on their feet. Camara returns to
the action to the clinch, as the remaining time bleeds off the
clock. 10-9 Solli (29-28 Solli)
The Official Result
Nicolo Solli def. Bourama Camara—Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28)
Round 1
Biyong (8-2, 1-1 Bellator) attempts to gain some traction in the
light heavyweight division against Zubco (3-1, 0-0 Bellator), who
climbs into the cage on the heels of back-to-back victories. Valel
oversees the action. Biyong casts quite a shadow as an intimidating
physical presence. Zubco keeps him at bay with leg kicks and
one-twos. He backs Biyong to the fence with punches but concedes a
takedown via the inside trip. The Cameroon native works from half
guard but cannot hold down his opponent. Zubco gets back to his
feet but struggles to free himself in the clinch. Biyong bullies
the Moldovan back to the canvas and again sets up in half guard. He
chips away at the body with punches while mixing in the occasional
elbow to the head. He climbs to full mount in an unfortunate
development for Zubco. Some punches and short elbows follow, the
situation growing increasing dire for Zubco. With 10 seconds left,
Biyong postures and cuts loose. A finish fails to materialize, but
the message has undoubtedly been set. 10-9 Biyong
Round 2
Zubco needs to get busy in the standup to avoid a repeat of what
happened in Round 1. Instead, he looks gun-shy. Biyong ducks under
a right hand, closes the distance and forces his opponent’s back to
the cage. He then muscles Zubco back to the canvas and progresses
immediately to mount. Trouble beckons for the Moldovan. Biyong
postures and punches with three minutes still left in the round.
He takes his time, piling up damage and control time. Zubco
eventually breaks beneath a volley of punches and
hammerfists.
The Official Result
Simon Biyong def. Dragos Zubco—TKO (Punches) 3:36 R2
Round 1
Landu (17-9, 2-1 Bellator) zeroes in on Cogliandro (11-3-1, 0-0
Bellator) and aims to spoil the Italian’s organizational debut on
home soil. Valel draws the officiating assignment. Landu looks
eager right out of the gate, uncorking punching combinations and
heavy body kicks. Cogliandro may have some difficulty keeping up.
Landu catches a kick and fires a knee up the middle, only to be
countered by an attempted takedown. Cogliandro chases a guillotine,
surrenders a takedown and then scrambles into north-south position
by kicking off the cage. Landu turns into him but finds himself
ensnared in an anaconda choke. Cogliandro stays on the choke as the
two men move to an upright position. Landu escapes and clips his
opponent moving in, briefly stunning him. Light on his feet, Landu
switches stances seamlessly and lets fly with combinations as the
round concludes. 10-9 Landu
Round 2
Landu presses forward with punches and a flying knee, only to be
cut off in the clinch. He gathers Cogliandro’s hips, hoists him
skyward and dumps him on his back in the center of the cage. Landu
passes to side control. The Cyrille Diabate protégé zeroes in on
the left arm, anchors himself on his knees and fights for the
kimura. Cogliandro escapes and chases a leg lock but nothing
materializes. Landu moves back to side control and attacks the arm
with another kimura, using it to progress to full mount with two
minutes to go. Cogliandro bucks free and eventually escapes back to
his feet. Land backs him up with a left cross-right uppercut and
follows with multiple body kicks. He has a significant output
advantage in the standup exchanges. 10-9 Landu
Round 3
Cogliandro likely needs to alter the direction of the narrative—and
fast. Landu strikes at multiple levels with punches and kicks,
dives on another takedown and advances to side control. He moves to
a topside crucifix, forces Cogliandro to accept the position and
piles up points and damage with punches and elbows. Cogliandro
extricates himself briefly but winds up turtled, with Landu feeding
him punches from behind. The Frenchman jumps back into side
control, then climbs to mount. Cogliandro is once again in real
danger. Landu scores with ground-and-pound, forces his adversary to
surrender his back and secures position with a body triangle. He
stays one step ahead of Cogliandro at every turn and, with less
than a minute remaining, positions himself for another victory.
10-9 Landu (30-27 Landu)
The Official Result
Yves Landu def. Walter Cogliandro—Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27,
30-27)
Round 1
An all-Italian battle between Penco (7-3, 3-1 Bellator) and
Marconetto (3-1, 0-0 Bellator) keeps the undercard moving in the
women’s strawweight division. Blake Grice serves as the referee.
Marconetto comes out swinging, only to be sat down by a right hand
from her opponent. Penco looks to counter, as Marconetto charges
in, head down, and fires her hands. Marconetto tries her luck in
the clinch, gets nowhere and moves back out into open space. Her
volume punching is giving Penco problems. Marconetto continues to
move forward behind active hands, and while she eats some return
fire, she finds her way into the clinch. Penco turns to knees up
the middle and enjoys some success with them. However, she seems to
be spending to much time backing up. 10-9 Marconetto
Round 2
Marconetto picks up where she left off as the more aggressive and
active fighter. Penco counters but only with one shot at a time.
Marconetto operates behind her jab, throws out one-twos and presses
forward. Again, not a good look for Penco, and meaningful
adjustments do not appear to be forthcoming. Marconetto mixes in
the occasional leg kicks but generally leans on one-twos before
resetting and getting back to business. Penco enjoys some success
with her jab, but the good moments appear to few and far between.
Marconetto maintains control of the center of the cage. 10-9
Marconetto
Round 3
Penco appears to need a finish entering Round 3. Jabs and leg kicks
flow out of Marconetto, whose confidence grows by the second. Penco
continues to work with single strikes, her back to the fence as she
circles on the outside. She doubles up on right hooks during a
dirty boxing exchange but does little to exploit the opening and
returns to an approach that does not serve her best interests.
Marconetto advances behind punches, taking two steps forward for
every one she gives back. Lacking the firepower necessary to turn
the tide in her favor, Penco seems to be fighting a losing battle
with a minute remaining in the fight. Marconetto connects with a
one-two, setting up a clean right cross with a jab. She snaps back
Penco’s head with several punches, forces her to stay on her back
foot and rides out the remaining time. 10-9 Marconetto (30-27
Marconetto)
The Official Result
Chiara Penco def. Manuela Marconetto—Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
30-27)