An emotional @YaroslavAmosov
is your new
#Bellator world welterweight champ.#MMA
#Bellator260 pic.twitter.com/qvSujc6WTc— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA)
June 12, 2021
Ukraine has its first major mixed martial arts champion.
Yaroslav
Amosov kept his perfect professional record intact and quieted
whatever detractors he had left, as he claimed the undisputed
Bellator
MMA welterweight title with a five-round unanimous decision
over Douglas
Lima in the Bellator
260 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville,
Connecticut. Amosov (26-0, 7-0 Bellator) swept the scorecards with
50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 marks from the judges.
Lima (32-9, 14-5 Bellator) was woefully ineffective, his best
weapons neutralized by the three-time combat sambo world champion.
Amosov held his own in the standup exchanges and completed
takedowns in all five rounds, corralling the Brazilian on the
canvas for extended periods of time. While his output was far from
overwhelming, he stayed busy enough to avoid restarts. Lima made a
pass at a Hail Mary armbar in the final minute of the fifth round,
and though he had the Ukrainian in legitimate danger, his efforts
ultimately proved fruitless.
Meanwhile,
Sanford MMA’s Jason
Jackson leaned on repeated takedowns, a smothering top game and
sporadic ground-and-pound, as he captured a unanimous decision over
Paul
Daley in the three-round catchweight co-main event at 175
pounds. All three judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Jackson
(15-4, 6-1 Bellator).
Daley (42-18-2, 9-5 Bellator) was never afforded the opportunity to
establish a rhythm. Jackson nullified the former Cage Rage champion
at every turn with level changes, takedowns, positional advances
and ground-and-pound. While his efforts did little to please those
in attendance, he was virtually flawless from a tactical
standpoint. Daley rarely had room to operate and found himself
pinned to the canvas for much of the 15-minute affair.
Jackson, 30, has rattled off five consecutive victories.
Elsewhere,
Jackson-Wink MMA prospect Aaron Pico
flirted with perfection in a comprehensive performance, as he
submitted Aiden Lee
with an anaconda choke in the third round of their featherweight
attraction. Pico (8-3, 8-3 Bellator) brought it to a close 1:33
into Round 3.
Lee (9-5, 2-2 Bellator) was outgunned in every phase. Pico struck
for repeated takedowns, paired them with damaging ground-and-pound
and shined in the standup exchanges, where he connected with two
devastating left hooks to the body. The 24-year-old Californian
sprawled out of an attempted takedown in the third round, took top
position in half guard and later delivered a series of knee strikes
to the grounded Lee’s exposed ribcage. Pico shifted his attention
to the neck soon after and cinched the fight-ending choke.
Pico has won four fights in a row, all of them finishes.
Finally, Chosen Few Gym export Mark
Lemminger put away Demarques
Jackson with punches in the second round of their welterweight
showcase. Jackson (11-6, 1-2 Bellator) packed his bags 3:30 into
Round 2, the Sanford MMA rep suffering his fourth setback in five
appearances.
Lemminger (12-3, 2-2 Bellator) stayed calm under duress and flexed
his superiority in the scrambles. He conceded a takedown in the
second round, reversed position into half guard and applied his
ground-and-pound with punches and elbows. Lemminger eventually
transitioned to the back, threatened with a rear-naked choke and
then flattened out Jackson. From there, he dropped unanswered
punches until referee Dan Miragliotta had seen enough.
The victory closed the book on Lemminger’s two-fight losing
streak.
In other action, Kyle
Crutchmer (7-1, 3-1 Bellator) laid claim to a unanimous
decision over Levan
Chokheli (9-1, 0-1 Bellator) in a three-round welterweight
battle, drawing 30-27 nods from all three cageside judges; Justin
Gonzales (12-0, 1-0 Bellator) was awarded a split
verdict—29-28, 28-29, 29-28)—over Tywan
Claxton (6-3, 6-3 Bellator) in a three-round featherweight
confrontation; Bobby King
(10-3, 1-0 Bellator) eked out a split decision—30-27, 28-29,
30-27—over Nick Newell
(16-4, 1-2 Bellator) in a three-round lightweight tilt; Lucas
Brennan (5-0, 5-0 Bellator) submitted Matt
Skibicki (4-4, 0-1 Bellator) with an anaconda choke 1:54 into
the first round of their catchweight encounter at 150 pounds;
Marina
Mokhnatkina (5-2, 1-1 Bellator) took a unanimous decision from
Amanda
Bell (7-8, 3-4 Bellator) in a three-round women’s featherweight
affair, sweeping the scorecards with 30-27 marks from all three
judges; and Alex
Polizzi (8-1, 2-1 Bellator) submitted Gustavo
Trujillo (3-2, 0-1 Bellator) with a straight armbar 4:22 into
the first round of their light heavyweight pairing.