Bellator 255 ‘Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2’ Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Round 1

The “Showtime Era” for Bellator MMA kicks off with Bellator 255 and
a middleweight matchup between Newman (2-0, 2-0 BMMA) and Busick
(2-1, 1 NC; 0-1 BMMA). John English is your referee. No touch of
gloves as the 185ers set up, Newman southpaw, Busick orthodox.
Newman clinches and runs Busick to the fence, looking for the
takedown but Busick defends with an overhook. Newman drills Busick
with a knee just before they disengage. 90 seconds gone. Newman
clinches again, they’re against the fence, and Newman drills Busick
with a knee to the cup. After a brief break, they’re back to it.
Newman again closes the distance and clinches. They jockey for
position away from the fence, Newman just misses a big elbow on the
break. Busick slips and Newman chases him down. Newman sets up in
half guard, then moves to the back. He lands a couple of hard shots
that have Busick squirming to get out. Newman grabs a no-hooks
rear-naked choke but Busick slips out. Newman ends up in side
control, where he rains down punches. He ends up back in half guard
as the round expires. Big round for Jordan Newman.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-8 Newman
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-8 Newman
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-8 Newman

Round 2

Newman shoots a double-leg takedown immediately and gets Busick to
the ground. He lands in half guard near the fence and starts
throwing punches. Busick is bloody and battered. Newman takes a
crucifix, then side control. English pauses the action to give
Busick back his lost mouthpiece. Newman is right back to pounding
on Busick with elbows from side control. Busick’s left arm is trapped, he’s unable to defend
himself and English steps in to halt the beating. Complete
domination by the Roufusport prospect, who moves to 3-0.

The Official Result

Jordan Newman def. Branko Busick R2 2:30 via TKO (Elbows)

Round 1

A scheduled welterweight clash between Faraldo (4-0, 1-0 BMMA) and
Gudde (2-1, 1-0 BMMA) is officially a catchweight affair, as
Faraldo missed weight by a minuscule 0.1 of a pound. English is the
referee once again. Faraldo nails Gudde with an overhand right. A
few moments later, he lands again. The impossibly tall Gudde is
standing straight up. A left hand drops Gudde, but Faraldo walks
away and English motions Gudde to stand. A lead left and right
straight drop Gudde again. Faraldo wants it back on the feet.
A left hand drops Gudde for the third time this
round, and English is waving it off. That was a one-sided
beating.

The Official Result

Roman Faraldo def. Trevor Gudde R1 1:30 via TKO (Punches)

Round 1

Light heavyweight debutants “Gugu” Augusto (6-2, 1 NC; 0-0 BMMA)
and “Johnny Bravo” Wilson (9-3, 0-0 BMMA), both of them normally
middleweights, prepare to square off. Dan Miragliotta is set to
officiate. Wilson sets up southpaw, Augusto orthodox. Wilson pawing
with the right jab early. Augusto explodes forward with a one-two,
then a moment later with a right high kick that lands with a loud
slap, but Wilson is unfazed. Wilson lands a low kick. Wilson ducks
under a punch and clinches, landing an uppercut as they separate.
Wilson shoots a single and after a lengthy series, gets Augusto to
the canvas. Wilson in half guard. Augusto throws up an omoplata,
trapping Wilson’s right arm and throwing some punches from the
bottom. Wilson steps over and escapes, but Augusto escapes and
takes top position. Augusto ends up in side control against the
fence with 90 seconds left. Augusto takes a crucifix and starts
punching Wilson’s head. Wilson squirms and struggles, trying to
wall-walk. Augusto goes for an arm-triangle with under 15 seconds
left, hopping to the opposite side. It looks as though time will run out, but with two
seconds left on the clock, Wilson taps! Impressive stuff from
“Gugu.”

The Official Result

Jose Augusto Azevedo Barros def. Jonathan Wilson R1 4:58 via
Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)

Round 1

Well-traveled veteran Huerta (24-12-1, 1 NC; 1-5 BMMA) meets one of
Bellator’s more promising young homegrown talents in Gonzalez (5-0,
4-0 BMMA), at a contracted catchweight of 160 pounds. Kevin
MacDonald is the referee. Gonzalez pushes Huerta to the fence where
he’s looking for a takedown. Suddenly he scoops Huerta up with a
high-crotch and slams him to the canvas. Gonzalez very heavy on
top, as Huerta switches between full and half-butterfly guard from
the bottom. Halfway through the round, Gonzalez passes to half
guard. Huerta scrambles to his knees and Gonzalez grabs north-south
position. Gonzalez spins to the back. With 90 seconds left, he
sinks both hooks. Gonzalez flattens Huerta and begins throwing big
shots to the head. He goes for a rear-naked choke with a minute
left, or perhaps a neck crank. He gives it up and throws some more
heavy punches to the sides of Huerta’s head. With under 30 seconds
left, Huerta gets back to his knees, but Gonzalez is still
walloping him at the horn. Huge round for Gonzalez.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-8 Gonzalez
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-8 Gonzalez
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-8 Gonzalez

Round 2

Gonzalez shoots a blast double, running Huerta to the ground within
the first 15 seconds. He moves to half-guard. Huerta locks down
Gonzalez’s left leg and throws short shots from the bottom, but
Gonzalez is not even distracted as he looks to trap an arm. Huerta
regains full guard. Gonzalez heavy on top, with his head in the
middle of Huerta’s chest, throwing punches to the head and body.
Halfway through the round, Huerta’s guard is closed, Gonzalez still
chipping away from top position. Huerta bucks Gonzalez off him,
stands and lands three good punches. Gonzalez half-staggers away,
but it doesn’t look as though he’s hurt badly. Gonzalez shoots a
single and gets another takedown. The round ends with Huerta on his
back.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Gonzalez
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Gonzalez
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Gonzalez

Round 3

Huerta is the man coming forward as the final round opens. Gonzalez
circles out, looks to counter. 90 seconds, in there are no takedown
attempts yet from the decorated wrestler. Huerta stalking, throwing
hard kicks to the legs and body. Gonzalez misses with a huge
Superman punch. Huerta throws a glancing head kick. At the midpoint
of the round, on a cue from his corner, Gonzalez shoots a takedown
and gets it easily. He moves instantly to the back, sinks a hook
and begins throwing punches. He flattens Huerta out against the fence and out of
nowhere, Huerta taps. Not sure whether it was some injury or
pure “no mas,” but either way, Chris Gonzalez remains undefeated in
dominant fashion.

The Official Result

Christopher Gonzalez def. Roger Huerta R3 3:01 via TKO (Submission
to Punches)

Round 1

Next up is our third catchweight of the evening, this one another
of the unscheduled variety, as Aguiar (17-1, 0-0 BMMA) missed the
middleweight limit for his Bellator debut by nearly two pounds. The
man we call “The Murdalizer” (14-2, 0-0 BMMA) will take a chunk of
his purse, and the fight goes on. Todd Anderson is the third man in
the cage. They touch gloves and set up in matching orthodox
stances. Aguiar shoots a double-leg almost immediately. Murtazaliev
sprawls against the fence and Aguiar switches to a single. 90
second in, they’re still jockeying. Murtazaliev gets away with a
fence grab, then uses another to take top position. Anderson stops
the fight immediately, gets a Russian translator and issues a
warning. He also restarts the fight in the middle of the cage,
standing. Aguiar’s lead hand is reaching, pawing as both men throw
low calf kicks. Murtazaliev lands a nice jab. Aguiar runs forward
and lands a one-two. With a minute and a half left, it’s the
Russian who initiates the clinch and shoves Aguiar to the fence.
Aguiar fights off the takedown, but Murtazaliev lands a hard elbow
as they separate. Aguiar keeps rushing forward with big hooks,
several of which land. Aguiar clinches and is looking for a
takedown at the horn.
Aguiar appears to slip and nearly fall out of his stool between
rounds!

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Aguiar
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Aguiar
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Aguiar

Round 2

Aguiar is the aggressor on the feet to open Round 2, coming forward
with jabs and looping punches, including a couple to the body.
Murtazaliev shoots a double-leg and drops Aguiar to his seat
against the fence. He takes Aguiar’s back against the fence and
looks to flatten the Brazilian out, and Anderson is forced to
intervene again, this time to tell Murtazaliev to keep his fingers
out of Aguiar’s gloves. Aguiar gets back to his feet briefly, but
Murtazaliev trips and hauls him back down, this time away from the
fence. Murtazaliev in full guard, throwing short punches to the
head. Aguiar turns away, then gives up half-guard. Murtazaliev is
driving Aguiar all around the cage on his back. Aguiar sits out and
the round ends with Murtazaliev on Aguiar’s back, sitting.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Murtazaliev
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Murtazaliev
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Murtazaliev

Round 3

It’s anyone’s fight, on our scorecards at least, and both men are
fighting like it. Aguiar comes forward with more wide punches.
Murtazaliev holds his ground and throws a spinning back kick that
misses. Aguiar shoots a single-leg and pushes Murtazaliev to the
fence. Murtazaliev defends ably with an overhook, then as Aguiar
switches to a double-leg and pulls him down, he tries to deny the
takedown by grabbing a single-leg of his own. Aguiar completes the
takedown and tries to take the back, but Murtazaliev denies him and
takes top position. Halfway through the round, it’s Murtazaliev in
Aguiar’s full guard. Aguiar scoots to the fence and tries to stand.
He gets back up, with Murtazaliev at his waist trying to pull him
back down. A minute left and Murtazaliev is still working for the
takedown. He gets it, but Aguiar pops right back up. Aguiar is
working on a kimura, but he loses the grip and the Russian hauls
him to the canvas. As the 10-second clapper sounds, it’s
Murtazaliev behind a seated Aguiar once again. The horn sounds on a
grueling final round, and we’re headed to the judges’ scorecards
for the first time tonight.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Murtazaliev (29-28
Murtazaliev)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Murtazaliev (29-28
Murtazaliev)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Murtazaliev (29-28
Murtazaliev)

The Official Result

Khalid Murtazaliev def. Fabio Aguiar via Unanimous Decision (29-28,
30-27, 30-27)

Round 1

After a brief break to watch a man remove tape from his toes to the
sweet strains of reggae, Seixas (9-2, 1-0 BMMA) and Nallo (7-1-1, 1
NC; 2-1, 1 NC BMMA) face off, with Dan Miragliotta the third and
largest man in the cage. Brazilian and Canadian are both orthodox
to start things off, and Nallo uses his long reach to land a snappy
jab in the early seconds. Nallo is getting the better of the range
striking early, as he touches Seixas up with low kicks and jabs.
Nallo throws a spinning back kick to the midsection. It’s Seixas
coming forward, and Nallo circling away and jabbing. Seixas’ face
is bloody. Nallo throws a glancing right high kick. Nallo hurts
Seixas with a right straight and now it’s the Canadian coming
forward, perhaps sensing blood in the water. Nallo lands a front
kick to the face, a right question mark kick to the ear, then drops Seixas with a long, sharp right hand
Superman punch. Seixas is done as Tan Dan rushes in for the
stop, right behind a final, glancing standing-to-ground blow.
Near-flawless striking performance from Mandel Nallo.

The Official Result

Mandel Nallo def. Ricardo Seixas R1 3:23 via KO (Superman
Punch)

Round 1

Magomedov (17-1, 1-0 BMMA), perhaps best known as the first man to
beat former UFC champ Petr Yan (even if it was an iffy decision)
welcomes short-notice opponent Hamilton (15-7, 0-0 BMMA) to
Bellator MMA. John English is the referee. Magomedov stalks forward
in orthodox, as Hamilton bounces around, switching stances.
Magomedov throws a huge spinning back kick, which Hamilton ducks
under easily. Magomedov catches a low kick one-handed and trips
Hamilton to the floor. Hamilton pops right back up and clinches
with Magomedov against the fence. Magomedov reverses the position
with an overhook. They disengage and Hamilton lands a body kick.
Magomedov shoots a fast single from outside but Hamilton counters
with a single-leg of his own. Halfway through the round, they’re
back on their feet. Magomedov grabs another single and spins
Hamilton to the ground. He passes quickly to side control. Hamilton
is working diligently to regain guard or escape. Magomedov postures
up and throws down a huge standing to ground punch. Magomedov gets
his hooks in, flattens Hamilton and starts whaling on him. English
is looking on closely. At the 10 second clapper, Magomedov hoists
Hamilton with a huge body lift to suplex, then throws punches until
the horn. What a finish to the round for Magomedov, as he turned a
competitive frame into a blowout in the final minute.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-8 Magomedov
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-8 Magomedov
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-8 Magomedov

Round 2

Magomedov throws a spinning back kick to the body, then another to
Hamilton’s lead leg, both of which connect. He lands a flying knee.
Magomedov changes levels for a takedown and Hamilton grabs a
guillotine. He squeezes for dear life, but Magomedov finishes the
takedown and moves to side control. As Hamilton lets go and tries
to stand, Magomedov executes a lightning-fast back take, secures a
rear-naked choke as he sinks his hooks, and this is over. They crash back to the canvas and Hamilton is
tapping. Wow. Dominant display by Magomed Magomedov, who moves
to 18-1 and looks like a serious contender at bantamweight.

The Official Result

Magomed Magomedov def. C.J. Hamilton R2 1:22 via Submission
(Rear-Naked Choke)

Round 1

The main card kicks off with the official Bellator debut of
Watanabe (9-0-1, 1-0 BMMA), who appeared in the Bellator cage as a
member of the Rizin roster at the promotions’ collaborative year-end card in
December 2019. Welcoming her will be Lara (9-3, 3-2 BMMA), whose
losses in Bellator have been against the only two women to hold the
title. Lara comes out southpaw, Watanabe orthodox. Lara crashes the
pocket with overhand punches that land, forcing Watanabe to
retreat. Lara lands a left hand that sends Watanabe stumbling into
the fence but overpursues, and the judoka grabs a body lock and
slams her to the canvas. Watanabe tries to take the back, but Lara
stands. Watanabe grabs Lara and tries a trip, but Lara takes her
back as soon as they hit the canvas. Lara sinks the hooks and
flattens Watanabe, looking to strike, but Watanabe tripods, then
stands, and gets Lara to slip over the top. They clash in the
middle of the cage, Watanabe looking to grab hold of Lara, Lara
giving ground and swinging. The horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Lara
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Lara
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Lara

Round 2

The flyweights come out swinging, and it’s Watanabe landing the
first hard shot of the round, an overhand right. Lara tags her back
with a combination, they clinch against the fence and Lara hits her
with a knee to the midsection. They disengage, and when they
collide a moment later, Watanabe gets another fast takedown. Lara
is active from her back, looking for perhaps an armbar or triangle,
but is forced to give it up. Watanabe is in Lara’s full guard, but
Lara lands a couple of surprisingly hard strikes from the bottom
before hipping out and sweeping to top position. Watanabe isolates
Lara’s left arm in a kimura — well, she’d probably call it an
ude-garumi — and sweeps to top position. She moves to the back,
where she lands some punches to Lara’s head before peeling off for
an armbar. She can’t lock anything up before the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Watanabe
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Watanabe
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Watanabe

Round 3

Once again, Watanabe and Lara charge right in, swinging. Watanabe
clinches, and after a series of positional reversals against the
fence, dumps Lara on her back. Watanabe is in Lara’s guard, landing
elbows and short punches. Two minutes in, Lara is in half guard
with her arms locked around Watanabe, no longer throwing strikes
from her back. Watanabe throws a half-dozen left hands to the ribs
of Lara, who seems to get some more urgency to get out of the
position. 90 seconds left, and Watanabe is still in Lara’s half
guard. She appears to frame an arm-triangle choke for a moment,
then moves back into full guard. At the clapper, Lara pops back up
to her feet, but Watanabe uses an overhook to force her back to her
knees. The fight ends with them side by side against the fence.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Watanabe (29-28 Watanabe)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Watanabe (29-28 Watanabe)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Watanabe (29-28 Watanabe)

The Official Result

Kana Watanabe def. Alejandra Lara via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28,
28-29)

Round 1

It’s the highly anticipated stateside debut of Usman Nurmagomedov,
the newest scion of — with all due respect to the Gracies — MMA’s
current royal family. He meets Hamel, who gave Adam Borics a tough
fight in his short-notice Bellator debut at 150 pounds. Todd
Anderson waves the lightweights into action, and both men set up in
southpaw stance. Hamel is the one coming forward in the early
going, as Nurmagomedov gives ground and throws long, probing kicks.
Nurmagomedov’s height and reach advantages are screamingly obvious,
but Hamel is working hard to get into range. Nurmagomedov is
kicking almost exclusively, as he often does early in fights,
throwing a question-mark kick and a spinning back kick, both of
which land. Halfway through the round, Nurmagomedov is the matador
to Hamel’s bull, using good footwork to get out of the way of
Hamel’s charges and tag him on the way out. Nurmagomedov slips on a
kick with 90 seconds left, but pops back up before Hamel can react.
Nurmagomedov switches stances, then switches back and touches Hamel
with a couple of righty jabs. Nurmagomedov grabs a single-leg, but
lets go almost immediately. Hamel lands a leg kick at the 10-second
clapper, and the round ends.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov

Round 2

The second frame begins much like the first, with Hamel coming
forward and trying to close the distance, while Nurmagomedov
circles out and throws kicks. A minute in, Hamel charges in for a
takedown, briefly takes Nurmagomedov’s back against the fence, but
is forced to bail on the attempt. Nurmagomedov back Hamel up with a
one-two, but when he throws a knee Hamel steps in and nearly takes
him down again. A little over halfway into the round, it’s
Nurmagomedov who steps in and looks to take Hamel down with an over
and underhook, but gives it up as Hamel disengages. Hamel is still
coming forward gamely in the final minute, throwing punches,
bleeding from a clearly busted nose. Nurmagomedov is beginning to
throw his jab harder and more often, and it’s there every time. The
horn sounds on another one-sided round of striking.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov

Round 3

Hamel is aggressive once again to open the final stanza, but
Nurmagomedov is still just too long, too quick and generally a step
ahead. Hamel crashes in for a takedown and gets a standing rear
waistlock, but Nurmagomedov gets his base low and breaks the hold.
Nurmagomedov switches to orthodox halfway through the round, still
throwing jabs and mixing in a right cross. Hamel catches a kick but
can’t capitalize. Nurmagomedov is throwing more kicks, one up high
that’s blocked but still looks like it hurt, then one to the
midsection that lands cleanly. Hamel shoots for another takedown,
once again gets to Nurmagomedov’s back, and once again Nurmagomedov
bends at his waist, breaks the grip and spins into Hamel. With 30
seconds left, no quit whatsoever in Hamel, who charges forward and
throws Hail Mary punches. The final bell sounds on a fight that, in
its own way, might elevate both men’s stock.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov (30-27
Nurmagomedov)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov (30-27
Nurmagomedov)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Nurmagomedov (30-27
Nurmagomedov)

The Official Result

Usman Nurmagomedov def. Mike Hamel via Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28)

Round 1

The lone heavyweight fight of Bellator 255 features rising prospect
Fortune (9-1, 1 NC; 9-1, 1 NC BMMA) in a rematch with the towering
May (11-7, 1 NC; 1-0, 1 NC BMMA), who stepped in for Matt Mitrione
a few days ago. The first meeting between Fortune and May last
September ended in via no-contest in the first round after an
inadvertent but brutal groin strike by Fortune, so tonight let’s
hope for…anything but that. Dan Miragliotta, wisely, is your
referee. He tells the heavyweights to get busy, and they do, both
in orthodox stance. They don’t stay that way for long, as Fortune
drops for a fast single-leg and brings May down in the first 15
seconds. May scoots to the fence and gets back to his feet, but
Fortune is stuck to his back and hauls him back down. May gets up
once again, and Fortune gets his second mat return. This time he
lands in May’s half guard and starts raining down short punches.
Fortune braces a forearm against May’s chin and throws punches to
the ribs. He starts throwing to the face, May turns to his side and
Miragliotta is telling May he needs to move. Two minutes left and
May is turtled, covering up. Miragliotta has seen enough, and he waves the fight
off. Complete mauling by the man from Arizona Combat Sports,
who has a few choice words for May before he heads to
celebrate.

The Official Result

Tyrell Fortune def. Jack May R1 3:16 via TKO (Elbows and
Punches)

Round 1

Gracie (10-1, 8-1 BMMA) and Jackson (13-4, 4-1 BMMA) meet in a
welterweight co-main event with major title implications. Jackson
enters on a three-fight win streak since his razor-thin decision
loss to Ed Ruth, while Gracie bounced back from his first career
loss to Rory MacDonald by steamrolling Jon Fitch on the ground last
September. The winner may very well be the next challenger for
Douglas Lima’s 170-pound belt. Kevin MacDonald is the referee. Both
men are in orthodox stance, and Jackson is throwing lightning-quick
jabs and one-twos, punctuated with low calf kicks. Gracie lands a
sweeping right hook that Jackson shrugs off. Jackson lands a right
hand and a moment later, Gracie shoots a double-leg. Jackson is all
over it, as Gracie ends up on the ground against the fence, but
suddenly Gracie scoots out and takes Jackson’s back as Jackson
appears frozen. There’s a bit of confusion as to what happened,
perhaps an eye poke by Gracie, and MacDonald is asking Jackson
questions even as Gracie works for a rear-naked choke. They break
for the doctor to check Jackson. Replay reveals that it was the
fence scraping Jackson’s face as he was unable to bring a hand up
to break his fall. No foul, so they restart with Gracie in full
mount and two minutes left. Jackson sweeps to top position and
escapes to his feet and after a few half-hearted exchanges there,
the bell sounds on a bizarre five minutes.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Gracie
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Gracie
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Gracie

Round 2

Jackson comes forward, throwing his fast jab and low kicks again.
His right straight and right cross keep landing every time he
throws them. Gracie changes levels, pulls Jackson down and takes
his back as he turns to stand. Jackson shakes Gracie off against
the fence and they break. Gracie comes forward behind a one-two and
clinches, pushing Jackson to the cage. Gracie drops to Jackson’s
hips and pulls his legs out from under him. At the halfway point of
Round 2, Gracie is kneeling over Jackson, who is seated against the
fence. Jackson controls Gracie’s legs with his hands and tries to
use the fence to stand, while Gracie looks to lock down Jackson’s
legs with his own. Under a minute left and the ground work has
slowed to a crawl. At the 10-second warning, Jackson tries to stand
once more, but the round ends in the same position.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Gracie
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Gracie
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Gracie

Round 3

Jackson sticks Gracie with a popping jab immediately, but it’s
Gracie moving forward and forcing the Jamaican to give ground.
Gracie walks right into a counter right, then lands a spinning back
kick to the gut. Gracie lands a jab, then ducks a wide right hook.
In the exchange, Gracie inadvertently thumbs Jackson’s right eye;
i.e. the one that hadn’t been injured yet. After a brief break for
the cageside doctor, they’re back to business with three minutes
left. Gracie grabs double underhooks and looks to trip, but it’s
Jackson who lands on top, in Gracie’s full guard. Gracie locks his
arms around Jackson’s torso and grapevines both legs, controlling
his posture completely. Jackson gets a warning from MacDonald
against poking Gracie in the eye, as Gracie switches to
half-butterfly guard, then a figure-four on both of Jackson’s legs.
Gracie scoots out the side and looks to sweep, but Jackson keeps
his hips and the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-10 (30-28 Gracie)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Jackson (29-28 Gracie)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Jackson (29-28 Gracie)

The Official Result

Jason Jackson def. Neiman Gracie via Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)

Round 1

The main event features the second semifinal of Bellator’s ongoing
featherweight grand prix, as defending champ Patricio “Pitbull”
Freire (31-4, 19-4 BMMA) and Emmanuel “El Matador” Sanchez (20-4,
12-3 BMMA) run back their outstanding and highly competitive first
fight. Awaiting the winner in the tournament final will be
undefeated phenom A.J. McKee, who is mic’ed up and watching from
the analysts’ desk. Todd Anderson is on duty as the referee. The
featherweights go to work, both from orthodox stance, and the pace
is very deliberate in the opening minute. “Pitbull” sets up in the
center of the cage, as Sanchez slides around the outside, darting
in to throw jabs and low kicks. Sanchez scoring with low kicks to
the outside of both legs of the champ, while Freire returns fire
with a low kick of his own and a one-two upstairs. Freire catches
Sanchez coming in with a three-piece. A moment later he catches him
again with a hard one-two that catches Sanchez on one foot,
practically swats him out of the air and drops him to his seat.
“Pitbull” pounces and locks up his trademark guillotine in a flash.
Sanchez stands as Freire locks up the choke and jumps to guard.
Sanchez struggles for a few seconds, but presently, Freire tells Anderson that he’s out and sure
enough, he is. The champ jumps up to celebrate, having put a
definitive stamp on his series with Sanchez, on his way to the
grand prix final.

The Official Result

Patricio Freire def. Emmanuel Sanchez R1 3:35 via Technical
Submission (Guillotine Choke)