.@MikeChandlerMMA’s
finish at
#Bellator243 pic.twitter.com/utmJzh738m— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker)
August 8, 2020
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* * *
Michael
Chandler removed all doubt and needed less than half a round to
do so.
The three-time Bellator
MMA lightweight champion took out Benson
Henderson with punches and moved to 2-0 in his head-to-head
series with “Smooth” in the
Bellator 243 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Connecticut. A free agent to be, Chandler (21-5, 18-5
Bellator) drew the curtain 2:09 into Round 1.
Henderson (28-9, 5-4 Bellator), who lost a split decision to the
Sanford MMA star at Bellator 165 in 2016, rolled out of the gate
with newfound aggression. He got Chandler’s attention with a pair
of thudding body kicks, punched well in combination and scooted out
of danger. Still, it all unraveled. Chandler switched stances,
floored the
MMA Lab cornerstone with a straight left and pounded away with
right hands until referee Dan Miragliotta saw fit to intervene.
In the heavyweight co-main event,
Xtreme Couture’s Timothy
Johnson disposed of Matt
Mitrione with first-round punches to even his record within the
company. Mitrione (13-8, 4-3 Bellator) succumbed to blows 3:14 into
Round 1, “The Ultimate Fighter 10” quarterfinalist losing for the
second time in as many appearances.
Johnson (14-6, 2-2 Bellator) swept the Sanford MMA export off his
feet with the benefit of an accidental clash of heads, settled in
side control and consolidated his positional advantage with
ground-and-pound. He then scrambled to the now-kneeling Mitrione’s
back and cut loose with a series of devastating right hands to the
side of the head that prompted referee Mike Beltran to act.
The 35-year-old Johnson has posted back-to-back wins for the first
time in more than five years.
Meanwhile,
Alliance MMA standout Myles Jury
deployed a sustained volley of kicks, jabs and close-range elbows,
as he picked up a split decision over former
World Series of Fighting champion Georgi
Karakhanyan in a three-round lightweight showcase. Scores were
30-27 and 29-28 for Jury, 30-27 for Karakhanyan.
Jury (19-5, 2-1 Bellator) pestered the Millennia MMA rep with front
kicks to the body and thigh, scored with his jab and largely
steered clear of the return fire. Karakhanyan (29-11-1, 7-9
Bellator) did his best work in the clinch, where he consistently
pinned “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 qualifier to the fence,
tagged his leg with knee strikes and threatened with takedowns.
Jury bent but refused to break.
Karakhanyan has suffered three defeats in his past four
outings.
Elsewhere,
American Top Team’s Sabah
Homasi outwrestled fellow
Ultimate Fighting Championship washout Curtis
Millender to a unanimous decision in a three-round catchweight
feature at 175 pounds. All three cageside judges scored it the
same: 29-28 for Homasi (14-8, 3-2 Bellator), who has rattled off
three consecutive victories.
Millender (18-6, 3-3 Bellator) controlled the center of the cage
and enjoyed success in the standup exchanges, but he lost his way
when the tide turned against him. Homasi struck for takedowns in
all three rounds, applied suffocating pressure in top position and
bled valuable time off the clock. Millender made passes at two
brabo chokes and a triangle choke, his efforts ultimately proving
futile.
The 32-year-old Millender has lost three of his last four
fights.
In preliminary action, Adam Borics
(15-1, 6-1 Bellator) eked out a split decision—29-28, 28-29,
29-28—over Mike Hamel
(7-4, 0-1 Bellator) in a three-round catchweight battle at 150
pounds; Cris
Lencioni (7-2, 4-2 Bellator) took a unanimous verdict from
A.J.
Agazarm (3-2, 3-2 Bellator) in a three-round featherweight
clash, earning 30-26, 30-27 and 29-28 scores from the judges;
Valerie
Loureda (3-0, 3-0 Bellator) wiped out Tara Graff
(1-2, 0-1 Bellator) with an overhand right and follow-up punches
5:00 into the second round of their flyweight confrontation;
Grant
Neal (4-0, 3-0 Bellator) cruised to a unanimous decision over
Hamza
Salim (5-3, 0-1 Bellator) in a three-round light heavyweight
tilt, drawing 30-26, 30-27 and 30-24 marks from the judges;
Charlie
Campbell (2-1, 1-0 Bellator) put away Nainoa Dung
(3-2, 2-2 Bellator) with leg kicks 1:42 in the second round of
their lightweight affair; and Dalton
Rosta (3-0, 3-0 Bellator) forced a cut-induced doctor stoppage
against Mark
Gardner (1-2, 0-1 Bellator) between the first and second rounds
of their middleweight pairing.