JUST LIKE THAT!!!! @RyanBader with the HUGE KO against Fedor Emelianenko!#Bellator214 pic.twitter.com/7fm2XFY1zh
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) January 27, 2019
Ryan Bader only needed two punches to become the first two-division champion in Bellator MMA history.
Bader (27-5, 5-0 Bellator) concluded the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix in emphatic fashion in the Bellator 214 headliner, knockout out Fedor Emelianenko (38-6, 2-2 Bellator) in the evening’s headliner at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. on Saturday night. The first punch to land — a lead left hook from Bader — sent “The Last Emperor” to the canvas instantly.
As the dazed Russian attempted to sit up, Bader tagged his foe with a stiff right hand, essentially ending the contest. Bader landed a couple more hammerfists before referee Mike Beltran was able to intervene just 35 seconds after the bout began.
“I had a great night,” Bader said. “But first and foremost I want to give it up to that man sitting across the cage from me. I had a good night, but he’s had a storied career…I’ve got a ton of respect for him.”
Bader, the reigning 205-pound champion, vanquished Emelianenko, Matt Mitrione and Muhammed Lawal to claim the vacant heavyweight throne. The Power MMA Team product isn’t sure exactly what comes next, but he does have designs on defending both belts.
“My team and I’ve got to get with Bellator and figure out where we want to be,” Bader said. “Heavyweight or light heavyweight, I want to defend both. We’ll see where it is.”
Meanwhile, Aaron Pico’s confidence and aggression proved to be his undoing against Henry Corrales in the evening’s co-main event.
The highly-touted prospect sent Corrales tumbling to his seat with a hard uppercut to the chin during an initial exchange in the first round of their featherweight clash. However, the MMA Lab product was able to quickly regain his bearings and hustle to his feet. From there, the combatants traded blows liberally in close quarters. Pico (4-2, 4-2 Bellator) was able to land a pair of body shots in the clinch, but that left him vulnerable, and Corrales (17-3, 5-3 Bellator) capitalized by landing a vicious right hook to the chin of his opponent on the break.
That blow put the Team Bodyshop representative out on his feet, and Corrales polished Pico off with a right and left as he fell to the canvas and one more on the mat for a knockout victory 67 seconds into round one. Pico’s two MMA losses — to Corrales and Zach Freeman — have come in a combined 91 seconds.
“What’s done is done,” Corrales said. “Respect to Pico and all his people in the crowd. Who the f—k is next? I’m ready for that belt. That’s five straight since joining the MMA Lab.”
Jake Hager, better known as “Jack Swagger” during his stint in the WWE, became the latest professional wrestler to make a successful transition to MMA with a quick victory over J.W. Kiser at heavyweight. An arm-triangle choke brought an end to the contest at the 2:09 mark of round one.
A former All-American wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, Hager absorbed a short right hand before taking his opponent down near the fence. Hager (1-0, 1-0 Bellator) set up shop in half guard, briefly framing a kimura before giving up on the maneuver. Shortly thereafter, 36-year-old dropped a heavy elbow from top position that forced Kiser to turn and set up the fight-ending choke. “Jack Swagger” didn’t even need to pass from half guard to get the victory, as his length and squeeze were enough to force Kiser (0-2, 0-1 Bellator) to call it quits.
“I was trying to slow everything down in my mind,” Hager said. “Keep control, I wanted to lay on him all day. I knew I was gonna get that big elbow in there, I just had to keep my posture. It was just a matter of time before I got that arm-triangle in there.”
Elsewhere, Juan Archuleta extended his winning streak to 17, as he outpointed Ricky Bandejas in a featured bantamweight clash. All three cageside judges scored the contest 29-28 in favor of the former King of the Cage Champion.
Archuleta (22-1, 4-0 Bellator) struggled at times with the range of Bandejas (11-2, 1-1 Bellator), who had made a splash in his promotional debut by stopping hyped Irish prospect James Gallagher. However, “The Spaniard” was able to initiate the clinch consistently throughout the bout while maintaining a steady volume in exchanges. While Bandejas was able to return to his feet quickly when taken down, he didn’t put together enough meaningful offense when standing to earn the scorecards.
Adel Altamimi kicked off the main card with a quick submission of Brandon McMahan in a featherweight affair. An armbar from the Iraq native brought an end to the contest 1:16 into round one. Altamimi (8-5, 1-0 Bellator) had some early success landing kicks to the body and head of his opponent before McMahan (3-5, 0-1 Bellator) attempted to secure a single-leg takedown. From there, a scramble ensued near the cage, with Altamimi transitioning from a kimura to an armbar to quickly force the tapout.
Earlier, Jesse Roberts spoiled the promotional debut highly-touted prospect A.J. Agazarm in a featured preliminary affair at a 160-pound catch-weight. A solid sprawl and the ability to land clean straight punches on the feet carried Roberts (1-0, 1-0 Bellator) to a split-decision triumph (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over the former Ohio State University wrestler. Agazarm (0-1, 0-1 Bellator), a Gracie-Barra black belt with numerous grappling accolades, was able to take his opponent’s back on two occasions but couldn’t capitalize enough on the positions to sway the cageside judges.
In other preliminary action: Thor Skancke (11-8-1, 1-0 Bellator) used a north-south choke to submit Jesse Merritt (5-5, 0-1 Bellator) at welterweight; Weber Almeida (2-0, 1-0 Bellator) knocked out Odan Ruiz (0-1, 0-1 Bellator) 3:04 into the first round at bantamweight; Arturo Rivas (6-2, 1-0 Bellator) used knees to the body and punches to earn a TKO win over Sean Johnson (3-2, 0-1 Bellator) 4:30 into round one at heavyweight; Jay-Jay Wilson (2-0, 2-0 Bellator) tapped Tyler Beneke (0-1, 0-1 Bellator) with a rear-naked choke at the 1:31 mark of round one in a featherweight scrap; Ryan Lilley (10-4, 1-0 Bellator) knocked out James Barnes (11-4, 1-3 Bellator) with a head kick 1:03 into the opening frame of their bantamweight clash; Craig Plaskett (4-3, 1-1 Bellator) garnered a unanimous verdict (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) over Ian Butler (4-6, 0-5 Bellator) at welterweight; and Desmond Torres (6-1, 1-0 Bellator) submitted Steve Ramirez (6-4, 2-1 Bellator) with an arm-triangle choke 4:21 into the opening stanza at bantamweight.