The main event at Bellator San Diego was on the line for the Bellator MMA lightweight championship.
Usman Nurmagomedov faced number one contender Alexandre Chabry with his unbeaten record and title on the line. Chabry (24-4) was able to land quick right punches and Peresvet had a tough time at first, but Nurmagomedov (18-0, 1 KO) was the more aggressive fighter, occasionally attempting takedowns and clearly leading in the second and third rounds. Nurmagomedov continued to control the bout in the deciding rounds, hurting his challenger with a head kick in the fourth round.
After five rounds, the scores were read 50-45, 49-46, 49-46 and Nurmagomedov’s hand was raised.
Larkin crushes Chokeri
In the co-main event, 38-year-old Lorenz Larkin faced off against Levan Chokeri, 11 years his junior.
“Monsoon” lived up to his nickname and proved age is just a number with a quick knockout. Larkin (27-8, 2 NC) damaged the Georgian fighter with a right hand and became the number one contender in the welterweight division. Larkin kept up the pressure and knocked out Chokeri (13-3, 1 NC) with a follow-up knockout.
The bout was officially stopped just 1 minute, 53 seconds into the first round.
Jeffrey takes down Lima and keeps him down
Former welterweight champion Douglas Lima attempted to defeat Aaron Jeffery to earn the right to a middleweight title fight.
But it was Jeffery (15-5) who came out on the offensive, quickly taking Lima (33-12) to the ground and winning the first round with ease. But “The Phenom” gave the Canadian a scare early in the second, landing some powerful punches before the two were stalemate in the clinch. It all came down to the final five minutes, when Jeffery got a takedown and overpowered him with unanswered punches.
After 15 minutes of fighting, Jeffery won the bout by unanimous decision, scoring 29-28 on three scorecards.
Inaba Exterior Styler
Women’s flyweight contender Sumiko Inaba had a strong showing against previously unbeaten Mackenzie Stiller.
The first round saw Inaba (8-1) looking pretty confident in the stand-up, as Stiller (3-1) didn’t want to get hit in the face, and “The Lady Samurai” stepped up the pressure. After surviving a brief armbar attempt by Stiller, Inaba was able to score the TKO victory with a flurry of punches.
The official TKO stoppage came at 4 minutes, 25 seconds into the second round.
Aivazian dominates Medeiros
Bellator San Diego’s main card kicked off with a lightweight bout between fan-favorite Yancy Medeiros and promising prospect Zhora Aivazian.
Aivazian proved his grappling superiority early on, controlling Medeiros (16-9, 2 NCAAs) on the ground for the most part and taking the first round. The 37-year-old “The Kid” kept the offensive up until the end, but the Armenian dominated on the ground and in the stand-up in the final 10 minutes, resulting in Aivazian winning all three bouts by the scorecards, 30-27.
Aivazyan is currently 29 years old and boasts an impressive professional record of 15 wins and 1 loss.
Bellator San Diego Preliminary Results:
In the preliminary bouts, middleweight prospect Jordan Newman (7-0) put the first blemish on Imamshafi Aliev’s (9-1) record with a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Masayuki Kikuiri (10-2-1) took down fellow welterweight Herman Terrado (15-7-1) with a powerful body kick at 2:54 of the third round. Bryce Meredith (7-0) maintained his status as an unbeaten bantamweight prospect by putting Jonathan McAloloui (4-2) to sleep with a rear-naked choke at 3:15 of the first round. Josh Hokitt (2-0) submitted heavyweight opponent Shawn Rose (2-3) via armbar with two seconds left in the first round. Ashley Tinner (1-0) finished off Aisiah Cortez (0-1) with a barrage of punches at 3:11 of the second round to earn her first career win in the strawweight division.
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