@RyanBader
scoring yet another takedown, now in the third round.Watch
#Bellator256 and the
#BellatorLHWGP LIVE NOW on @SHOSports.#MMA
#BellatorOnShowtime pic.twitter.com/lTH1AsR3ov— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA)
April 10, 2021
Ryan
Bader is the first fighter to advance in the Bellator
MMA light heavyweight grand prix. The
Bellator 256 main event saw Bader (28-6, 1 NC) get a chance at
revenge against former
Lyoto Machida, who knocked out “Darth” in 2012. Early on, the
superior footwork of Machida (26-11) allowed him to stay away from
Bader’s right hand and land some hard kicks to the body. However,
the wrestling of the American became a factor as the fight
continued. The reigning Bellator heavyweight champion kept the
Brazilian grounded and delivered constant punishment from top
position during the final three rounds. An exhausted Machida had
accepted his fate when the scorecards were read and Bader picked up
scores of 49-46, 49-45 and 49-45.
The co-main event saw Liz
Carmouche face fellow flyweight veteran Vanessa
Porto. The clinch-heavy style of the “Girl-rilla” was fully on
display as Carmouche (15-7) displayed her physical advantages
against Porto (22-9) by repeatedly securing takedowns. Porto never
backed down, but Carmouche was clearly the better fighter through
three rounds. The judges ultimately awarded a unanimous decision
verdict to the former UFC title challenger with scores of 29-28,
30-27 and 30-27.
Bellator featherweight contender Adam Borics
kept his recent win streak intact against Jeremy
Kennedy. Borics (17-1) outpointed Kennedy (16-3, 1 NC)
throughout all three rounds and landed damaging leg kicks. The
judges all preferred Borics’ work and he took home scores of 30-27,
29-28 and 29-28 as a result. After the win, the Hungarian fighter
expressed his desire for a title shot against the featherweight
tournament winner.
Cat
Zingano continued her winning ways in Bellator. After taking
the fight to the ground, Zingano (12-4) managed to lock in an
armbar on Olivia
Parker. The pressure wound up being too much for Parker (4-2),
who tapped out at 2:56 of Round 1. Zingano is now 2-0 inside her
new promotional home.
The main card opened with a lightweight bout between Goiti
Yamauchi and Dan Moret.
Yamauchi (25-5) took the back of Moret (15-6) several times, but “The Hitman” proved difficult to submit. Despite the Japanese
fighter clearly controlling most of the fight, and
Sherdog scoring it 30-27 Yamauchi, the bout wound up being an
inexplicable split decision that went to Moret (via scores of
29-28, 28-29 and 29-28). Moret is now 1-0 inside the promotion.
In preliminary action, undefeated middleweight prospect Dalton
Rosta (5-0) picked apart Tony
Johnson (8-4) on the feet to get 30-27 scorecards from all
three judges; Talita
Nogueira (8-2) scored an easy decision win over Jessica
Borga (3-3) despite a point deduction for blows to the back of
Borga’s head with all three judges scoring the fight 29-27;
Jornel
Lugo (6-0) dominated Cass Bell
(5-2) en route to a unanimous decision win with scores of 30-26,
30-27 and 30-27; Cody Law (3-0)
outwrestled Nathan
Ghareeb (2-1) over three rounds to pick up a dominant decision
victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27); Jaylon
Bates (2-0) submitted Jeffrey
Glossner (2-2)
with a Japanese necktie at 1:27 of Round 2; Nainoa Dung
(4-2) outpointed Isaiah
William (4-4) to a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28);
Diana
Avsaragova (3-0)
scored a knockout win over Tara Graff
(1-3) in just 29 seconds; and the superior grappling of John Douma
(5-2) led to him earning a split decision over Will Smith
(3-3) with scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.