Bellator 254 took place tonight from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The main event saw someone’s 0 go when a new champion was crowned in the main event between Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez. Julianna Velasquez’s undefeated record remained intact while Macfarlane’s evaporated as the judges’ scorecards were rendered, bringing to a close what was a tactical main event bout. Velasquez now moves to 11-0, with Macfarlane dropping to 11-1.
In some of the evening’s highlights, the prelims saw Billy Goff decimate Robson Gracie Jr. with elbows against the cage for a standing TKO victory:
Also in the prelims, Cody Law earned a ground-and-pound finish over Kenny Champion. Champion was able to survive for a while, but the finish was inevitable:
At light heavyweight, Grant Neal remained undefeated with the first submission of the night, finishing Maurice Jackson by rear naked choke:
The second submission of the night also was a rear-naked choke victory by an undefeated fighter when Romero Cotton tapped out Justin Sumter to kick off the main card:
In the next main-card bout, Linton Vassell defeated Ronny Markes by ground and pound to pick up his second-straight victory:
In the co-main event, Magomed Magomedov advanced his impressive MMA record to 17-1 with his fourth straight victory. Madomedov’s opponent Matheus Mattos lost via unanimous decision after somehow surviving this vicious suplex:
And in our final highlight, check out this cool flying knee from the new Bellator flyweight women’s champion:
You can find the full Bellator 254 results below:
Bellator 254 MAIN CARD
Juliana Velasquez def. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-47, 48-47) to become new flyweight champion
Magomed Magomedov def. Matheus Mattos via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27X2)
Linton Vassell def. Ronny Markes via TKO (punches) — R2, 3:37
Romero Cotton def. Justin Sumter via submission (rear-naked choke) R1, 3:36
Bellator 254 PRELIMINARY CARD
Shamil Nikaev def. Kemran Lachinov via unanimous decision (29-28X3)
Grant Neal def. Maurice Jackson via submission (rear-naked choke) R2, 3:59
Cody Law def. Kenny Champion via TKO (ground and pound) R3, 4:44
Billy Goff def. Robson Gracie Jr. via TKO (ground and pound) R2, 1:46
