Nearly nine years after their first meeting, Ryan Bader took revenge and took a step back to regain his light heavyweight title.
In the scheduled five rounds of the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, Bader and Lyoto Machida played Friday night in the Bellator 256 main event at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Bader the first knockout loss of his career to Machida, which took place at the UFC on FOX 4 in August 2012, with a dominant unanimous decisive victory.
Machida landed the first blow of the fight with a few kicks to the current heavyweight champion, followed by a hard kick on the body. Bader looking for an opening loaded with his right hand and eating another slap to the middle. Machida remains calm and calculated and lets Bader’s ribs pull up. With less than a minute to go, Bader lands a hard right hand, followed by a short left. Machida answers with a high kick and a jumping knee that led to Bader seeking a removal when the bell rang.
Both fighters exchanged kicks to start the second with Machida looking as relaxed as ever. Machida continued to strike first before Bader climbed in and landed a great clearance with just under two minutes to go around. Short blows from Bader while Machida worked to get back on his feet, but it was in vain. Continuous left hand from Bader land to ward off the stanzas.
Machida succeeded with a header to start the third round, but Bader showed more confidence on his feet before taking down Machida. On top of that, Bader dropped hammers on Machida, who started carrying the damage to his face in the championship rounds.
If he smells blood, he comes out aggressively in the fourth landing and shoots Machida with more than four minutes to work. He strangled Machida on the mat and landed short blows and elbows.
It was more the same to kick off the fifth and final round when Bader Machida took off quickly and landed a hard body shot that changed the former UFC champion’s facial expression. Bader continued to use heavy top pressure and effective soil and pounds. Machida landed a back elbow to open a cut on his opponent’s forehead, but the last 20 minutes of the fight belonged to Bader when he returned to the winning column after winning his light heavyweight title at Bellator 244 in August. to Vadim Nemkov.
With the win, Bader advances to the second round of the Grand Prix and will face the winner of the Bellator 257 showdown between Corey Anderson and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.
Liz Carmouche points of departure Vanessa Porto to improve Bellator record to 2-0
Liz Carmouche welcomed the highly regarded Vanessa Porto into the Bellator cage during the co-main event. Both ladies used a lot of kicks early in the first round, Carmouche landed a bit more and regularly changed position in the first two minutes of the match. The exhaustion process continues in the last minute with Porto starting to open with hard kicks against the leg and body of Carmouche. Porto searched for a removal in the last seconds before the bell rang.
Carmouche landed a hard left hand early in the second round and pushed Porto against the fence. The former UFC title challenger would work for hooks and in the process land knees on the body. Carmouche sank in the direction of a single and Porto tried to include a stranglehold before being taken down, albeit perhaps for two seconds. The final continued with Carmouche succeeding with the knees to the thighs before Porto could get separation. Both women exchanged kicks to the legs and body in the last minute of the lap, while Carmouche landed more.
Porto wanted to change momentum in the third, but Carmouche did her job well and landed short counters. Carmouche then increased her aggression and volume in the final seconds of the fight en route to a unanimous victory.
Adam Borics use effective jab, bone kicks to survive Jeremy Kennedy
Jeremy Kennedy enters the Bellator cage for the second time against Adam Borics in a fight that had hardcore fans pretty excited. After a patient approach from both fighters early on, Kennedy wanted to get the fight against the mat. They lied for position against the fence before Kennedy landed a knee under the belt and forced a quick break into the action. When the action resumed, Borics landed some hard kicks on Kennedy’s calf. Right hand of Borics land clean. Answer Kennedy with a jab and a quick removal. Borics got up again when the round ended.
Kennedy came out a little more aggressive in the second moment, while Borics still countered effectively. Blood began to flow from the nose of a Borics, who in the second round regularly used a beautiful jab to score points. Calf kicks and pushes were the choice of weapons for Borics, who then tried to fall short of a flying knee, to the delight of both athletes. Borics landed a hard kick in the final seconds of the stanza that caught Kennedy’s attention.
In the third round, Borics dropped Kennedy with a lime kick and came out on top. Kennedy was looking for an opening to sweep and made his move halfway through the round. With just over a minute to go, Kennedy let Borics down, and the Hungarian fighter spent the rest of the fight getting on his feet and halting a Kennedy mountain to do so like the last bell rang. All three judges achieved it for Borics, with one judge being able to give the standout of the Sanford MMA standout.
Kat Zingano get the first endpoint in more than six years
Former UFC title contender Cat Zingano has made her second Bellator appearance against Olivia Parker of Tennessee. Zingano put the fight on the ground in less than a minute and quickly guarded after the half. Zingano will move to the full mountain with about three minutes of work. Parker gave up her back and was able to return to the top position. Zingano immediately went to a bracelet that forced the crane.
It was Zingano’s first finish since Amanda Nunes was stopped at UFC 178 in September 2014.
Dan Moret upset Goiti Yamauchi via controversial split decision
In the main card opener, Goiti Yamauchi welcomes UFC veteran Dan Moret to the promotion. About a minute into the opening round, Moret landed a big combination that dropped Yamauchi briefly. Moret showed off his veteran-skilled husband early before Yamauchi started for a flying knee attempt, which turned Moret into a removal. Yamauchi takes the back of Moret with both brackets and works with a kimura grip. Moret was able to shake off his opponent and end the round with hammer fists.
In the second round, Yamauchi quickly landed a beautiful clearance and switched to side control. Moret uses his feet to push down the fence to get up until Yamauchi goes for his neck before moving backwards again. The 28-year-old Brazilian would drag Moret to the mat with both brackets, and so the round continued for the last 90 seconds.
In the final round, both athletes struggled for their position, mostly in the against the fence. Moret continually divorced after separation while Yamauchi worked for a removal. When Yamauchi looked at a hip throw, Moret ended up at the top with a little over a minute to go. Moret tried everything to land land and pounds, but Yamauchi worked for an armrest and ended up on Moret’s back until the last bell. In the end, two of the three judges scored it for Moret, who cut Yamauchi’s try-win streak.
See the full Bellator 256 results below:
Main card
Defeat Ryan Bader. Lyoto Machida unanimous decision (49-46, 49-45, 49-45)
Defeat Liz Carmouche. Vanessa Porto by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Adam Borics defeats Jeremy Kennedy by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Defeat Cat Zingano. Olivia Parker via submission (bracelet) – Round 1, 2:56
Dan Moret defeats Goiti Yamauchi via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary map
Dalton Rosta defeated Tony Johnson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Talita Nogueira defeats Jessica Borga by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Jornel Lugo def. Cass Bell by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Cody Law def. Nathan Ghareeb by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Defeat Jaylon Bates. Jeffrey Glossner via Guillotine – Round 2, 1:27
Defeat Nainoa Dung. Izzy William by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Defeat Diana Avsaragova. Tara Graff via KO (punch) – Round 1, 0:29
Defeat John Douma. Will Smith via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)