Bellator
MMA has a new No. 1 contender at women’s featherweight.
Fan-favorite Leah
McCourt took on the undefeated Sara
Collins in the
Bellator London main event. “The Curse” came out looking to use
her jab, but Collins (6-0) was able to strike first. The Australian
put down McCourt (8-4) with a well-timed right hook. McCourt would
survive some ground-and-pound, but Collins took her back and
sunk in a rear-naked choke to get a submission win.
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The tap came just 2:25 into the first round and has lined up a
potential fight against “Cyborg” Cristiane
Justino.
Powell Edges Xavier
The light heavyweight co-main event saw Simeon
Powell get back into the win column following his first career
defeat. Powell (10-1) came out aggressive on the feet, but it was Rafael
Xavier that was able to score a flash knockdown after landing a
perfectly-placed front kick. More adversity would happen at the
bell, as a left hook from Xavier (13-8) floored the London native.
Powell would come out composed to start the second round and found
success on the feet as the much fresher fighter. Xavier would
rebound in the final five minutes, though, as the last round was a
back-and-forth affair that was tough to score.
The judges arrived at an understandable split decision, with Powell
getting two of the three 29-28 scorecards.
Trainer RNCs Urbonavicius
Bellator’s light heavyweight division was put on notice following
Luke
Trainer‘s dominant win over Laurynas
Urbonavicius.
Trainer (9-1) grappled early on with “Captain Lithuania” before
knocking down his opponent with a well-timed left hook. “The Gent”
was able to then take the back of Urbonavicius (14-2). The
28-year-old British fighter was able to eventually
sink in a rear-naked choke for a submission win.
The tap officially came at 4:15 of Round 1.
Diakiese Outwrestles Wilde
The main card opened up with a lightweight fight between two
veterans, Marc
Diakiese and Tim Wilde.
Both men came out looking to strike, but Diakiese (18-7) showcased
his diverse game by taking down Wilde (17-6-1) later in the first
round and getting to mount position. Having an advantage in
wrestling, “Bonecrusher” would go back to grappling as the fight
went on and controlled the second frame. Wilde would finally find
success in the final round, landing some hard punches as Diakiese
tired, but it wound up being too little, too late.
After 15 minutes of action, Diakiese took a unanimous decision win
with three 29-28 scorecards in his favor.
Bellator London Prelim Results:
In preliminary action, Archie
Colgan (11-0) stayed undefeated by outworking Manoel
Sousa (11-1) over three rounds to take a unanimous decision win
(30-27, 29-28, 29-28); Mike
Shipman (17-4) wrecked Eslam
Abdul Baset Syaha (16-3)
with a well-timed knee and punches to pick up a TKO win at 2:32
of the second round; Joseph
Luciano (9-2) submitted Steven Hill
(7-2) with
an anaconda choke at 1:22 of Round 2; Ciaran
Clarke (10-0) stayed undefeated in a 140-pound catchweight
fight against Tuomas
Gronvall (12-8-1) by earning a unanimous decision with scores
of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27; and Darragh
Kelly (7-0) outgrappled fellow lightweight Dmytrii
Hrytsenko (9-1) to a unanimous decision win with three 30-26
scorecards after a point was deducted for several low blows.