Bellator MMA invaded the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT on Friday night. The show, titled “The British Invasion,” featured Liam McGeary’s upset victory over Emanuel Newton to become the new Bellator light heavyweight champion. In the night’s co-main event, Mo Lawal moved up in weight to take on Cheick Kongo. Despite a dominant outing by Lawal that wasn’t exactly fan friendly, he left the cage with an inexplicable split-decision win.
All-in-all, the British were successful in their invasion, as the three actual Brits all were victorious.
Main Card (Live on Spike TV, 9:00 PM ET)
-Liam McGeary defeated Emanuel Newton by Unanimous Decision (48-46, 48-47, 48-47)
-Paul Daley defeated Andre Santos by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
-Muhammed Lawal defeated Cheick Kongo by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
-Linton Vassell defeated Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by TKO (Strikes, Round 2, 3:18)
-Brennan Ward defeated Curtis Millender by Submission (RNC, Round 1, 1:37)
Preliminary Bouts (Live on Spike.com, 6:45 PM ET) -Dean Hancock defeated Mike Mangan by Submission (RNC, Round 1, 1:33)
-Matt Bessette defeated Josh LaBerge by TKO (Doctor Stoppage, Round 2, 5:00)
-Raphael Butler defeated Josh Diekmann by Submission (Guillotine Choke, Round 1, 1:04)
-Tamdan McCrory defeated Jason Butcher by Submission (Armbar, Round 1, 1:06)
-Neiman Gracie defeated Bobby Flynn by Submission (Cross Face Crank, Round 1, 2:36)
-Blair Tugman defeated Marvin Maldonado by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
McGeary became the Bellator light heavyweight champion with the win, remaining undefeated in his career and picking up his seventh win for the promotion. Newton had his seven-fight winning streak snapped with the loss.
The win completed a clean sweep for the team leading the “British Invasion,” after which the event was named.
Paul Daley came through a very tough fight and ran his winning streak to three and improved to 8-2 in his past 10 fights. The win likely keeps him right in line for the title fight that fell apart this time around. For Santos, the loss snapped a seven-fight winning streak and was his first defeat in two years.
Linton Vassell defeated Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and at the time put “Team U.K.” up 1-0 and got Vassell back on the winning side of the ledger after having his nine-fight winning streak snapped by Emanuel Newton at Bellator 130. For Sokoudjou, a former PRIDE star, the loss broke a two-fight winning streak and was his first defeat since 2013.
Great night for British MMA and the future looks safe in these guys hands.
Subscribe
37 Responses