Bellator Champions Series Paris Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring

Asael Adjoudj (145.9) vs. Bruno Fontes (145.4)

Round 1

Featherweights kick off festivities in France, where the unbeaten Fontes (7-0, 0-0 Bellator) awaits the once-beaten Adjoudj (7-1, 5-1 Bellator) at 145 pounds. Christophe Chapuis serves as the third man in the cage. Fontes marches forward with heavy pressure, eats a glancing spinning backfist and wanders into the clinch. Adjoudj works behind him and hammers his legs with knees, then drags him to a kneeling position along the fence. Fontes stays calm. Adjoudj hooks the outside leg to maintain control, flirts with a guillotine and resumes his striking efforts with short punches and knees. With the round half over, Fontes continues to struggle to find some answers. Adjoudj racks up points with his counterpart trying to free himself. Ninety seconds to go in what has been a tactical rout thus far. At this point, Fontes might be better served bailing on the round and preserving his energy. Adjoudj lifts the Brazilian and scores a takdown, then another. Tone set.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Adjoudj
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Adjoudj
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Adjoudj

Round 2

Fontes steps out for the second period in need of a momentum shift. A kick from the Brazilian strays south of the border and results in a brief pause to the action. Adjoudj feeds him a body kick upon the restart and seems more than willing to exchange on the feet. A check left hook gives Fontes pause before they resume throwing hands. Adjoudj steps into a clean right hook and sends his dazed opponent somersaulting backwards. More punches follow before Chapuis rushes in to call it off. Stellar performance for SBG Ireland’s Adjoudj.

The Official Result

Asael Adjoudj def. Bruno Fontes—TKO (Punches) 1:11 R2

Aspen Ladd (145.8) vs. Katerina Shakalova (144.2)

Round 1

Ladd (11-5, 0-0 Bellator) looks to rebound from a Nov. 24 decision defeat to two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison, as she takes on Shakalova (8-1, 1-0 Bellator) in a women’s featherweight affair. The 26-year-old Shakalova has won six fights in a row. Chapuis once again draws the officiating assignment. Shakalova steps into a couple of left hands, resets and fires off a multi-punch volley. Ladd paws with her job and circles on the perimeter, staying composed and looking for openings. Shakalova finds the mark with a kick to the body and appears as though she wants to lean on volume, at least early in the bout. The Ukrainian dives on a single-leg, but Ladd deftly defends and exits to the center of the cage. Ladd doubles up on the left hook but eats another body kick in response. Shakalova scores with a double-leg takedown, only to have Ladd wall walk back to her feet. Ladd presses forward with punches, sprawls on a takedown and grabs the Thai clinch, connecting with a knee to the body. Shakalova looks winded with a minute to go in the round. Ladd gets to the Thai clinch again and scores with more knees to the midsection. Shakalova completes a single leg takedown, but Ladd sweeps into mount briefly before returning to her feet. Ladd handling her business in the clinch with knees and elbows, as the round closes.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Ladd
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Shakalova
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Ladd

Round 2

Hands on hips, Shakalova emerges for Round 2 visibly fatigued. Still, she lets her hands go. Ladd marches forward, throws punches in combination and dodges return fire. She presses Shakalova into the fence, where she looks to further drain the Ukrainian’s gas tank. They reset and circle one another. Pace has definitely slowed. Shakalova fires a few right hands from the collar tie, then reverses course. Ladd sprawls on a takedown attempt but allows Shakalova to turn her into the fence. Ladd answers with knees to the body, as she fights for an underhook. Bleeding from a small cut near her left eye, Shakalova engages the American in a dirty boxing exchange. Ladd finds the mark with a short elbow, opening another cut, and lures her opponent into a guillotine choke. Shakalova scrambles free. The second cut appears, in the middle of the forehead, to be more significant. They jockey for position in the clinch, prompting a referee restart. Shakalova ducks in on a double-leg takedown with 20 seconds to go in the round but goes nowhere with it.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Ladd
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Ladd
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Ladd

Round 3

It looks like Ladd’s fight to loss as they head out for third round. Damage beginning to accumulate on Shakalova’s face. Ladd marches forward behind punches and immediately sprawls on a takedown. Shakalova resets, shoots on a double-leg and completes the takedown. She works behind the scrambling Ladd in a bid to keep her grounded, but the Californian gets back to her feet. Ladd executes a double-leg takedown of her own, corrals the legs and progresses toward the back. Shakalova running on fumes here. Puzzling restart from the referee, as Ladd was in a dominant position and had begun hunting a choke. Shakalova throws, but her shots are labored. Ladd stalks, sprawls on a takedown attempt and briefly drives Shakalova to a kneeling position. Shakalova escapes, retreats and dives on a desperate takedown. It fails. Ladd walks through punches. They trade along the fence as the round drifts into its final minute. Ladd shuts down another attempted takedown, braces herself on the cage and scores with punches. Ladd connects with a knee to the body and a left hook upstairs, then denies a takedown in the middle of the cage. Ladd lands a glancing head kick to close it out.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Ladd (30-27 Ladd)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Ladd (29-28 Ladd)
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Ladd (30-27 Ladd)

The Official Result

Aspen Ladd def. Katerina Shakalova—Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Steven Hill (184.3) vs. Mike Shipman (185.9)

Round 1

Middleweights are next to the stage, as the undefeated Hill (7-0, 2-0 Bellator), aka “The Hillbilly Hammer,” puts his perfect record on the line against Shipman (15-4, 6-3 Bellator). Mike Beltran administers the law an order for this 185-pound clash. Shipman uncorks his hands, then settles into the clinch. Hill connects with an inadvertent knee strike below the belt, resulting in pause to the action. Beltran restarts them in the clinch. Shipman scores with shoulder strikes, then exits with a knee on the break. Hill takes the center of the cage, bails on an attempted single-leg and pushes his way into the clinch. Shipman turns him into the fence and feeds him short punches. Boos from the crowd. Hill breaks away, sets up shop on the center of the cage and eats a right hook. Shipman light on his feet, with his hands down. Not much happening here. Hill ducks a few punches but fails to respond. Shipman scores with a takedown along the fence and applies his ground-and-pound but connects with an illegal knee to the face. Beltran deducts a point upon the restart. Shipman steps into a few knees at close range, denies an attempted takedown and exits into open space before throwing another knee. Shipman grabs the Thai clinch and connects with knees, elbows and hammerfists. Not going well for Hill near the end of the round. Shipman powers into a takedown in the waning seconds and cuts loose with hammerfists.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 9-9
Jay Pettry scores the round: 9-9
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 9-9

Hill cannot answer the bell for the second round, and Beltran waves it off.

The Official Result

Mike Shipman def. Steven Hill—TKO (Retirement) 5:00 R1

Mansour Barnaoui (153.7) vs. Yusuke Yachi (155.3)

Round 1

Experienced lightweights step into the spotlight, as Barnaoui (20-6, 1-2 Bellator)—a former M-1 Global, British Association of Mixed Martial Arts and Road Fighting Championship titleholder—tries to put a two-fight losing streak to bed against Yachi (26-13, 1-0 Bellator). Keith Peterson goes to the post as the referee. Barnaoui throws out his jab, hoping to exploit an eight-inch reach advantage. He cuts off a clinch with a series of standing elbows, then powers Yachi to the ground. Barnaoui in top position less than a minute into the bout. Yachi has his work cut out for him here. Barnaoui denies the Rizin Fighting Federation veteran’s bid to get back to his feet. Yachi eventually returns to a standing position. Barnaoui drifts into open space, gets his jab going again and blocks a head kick. Yachi barrels into another clinch, and Barnaoui dumps him to the ground. Elbows and forearm strikes fall next. Barnaoui in side control, with Yachi trying to bridge off the fence. Focused on defending strikes, Yachi leaves his neck exposed. In a blink, Barnaoui locks up the brabo choke and forces the tap.

The Official Result

Mansour Barnaoui def. Yusuke Yachi—Submission (Brabo Choke) 4:08 R1

Slim Trabelsi (239.5) vs. Louie Sutherland (265.9)

Round 1

Trabelsi (6-0, 1-0 Bellator) attempts to accelerate his climb on the heavyweight ladder and overcome close to a 27-pound weight disadvantage, as he toes the line against Sutherland (6-2, 0-0 Bellator). Peterson serves as the third man in the cage. No glove touch, as they approach one another in the center of the cage. Sutherland lands a crushing low kick that drops his opponent to a knee. The Scotsman using feints to keep Trabelsi guessing and off-balance. Trabelsi completes a single-leg takedown and settles in full guard. Heavy ground-and-pound ensues. Sutherland looks like a fish out of water on his back. Not a good sign with two minutes left in the period. Sutherland scrambles to his feet, lands a right hand to the side of the head and then concedes another takedown. Might only be a matter of time before Trabelsi finishes this. He uncorks a series of right hands to the head as Sutherland gets back to his feet in the closing seconds of the round.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi

Round 2

Trabelsi greets Sutherland with an overhand right to start the middle stanza. The action slows to a crawl. Trabelsi finds a home for his jab, throws in a leg kick and shoots on a single-leg. Trabelsi completes the takedown and moves into side control. Sutherland scrambles out of danger and makes his way back to his feet. Sutherland connects with a leg kick. Trabelsi forces him on the back foot, scoots in for another single-leg takedown and again sets up shop in side control. He consolidates those efforts with elbows and forearm strikes to the head. Trabelsi wheels behind the kneeling Scotsman, scores with punches while controlling the wrist and mixes in hammerfists. Sutherland gets back to his feet, only to be tripped back to the floor. Trabelsi delivers a series of left hands to the side of the head, as the round closes.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi

Round 3

Trabelsi, likely with two rounds in hand, works behind his jab and whiffs on an overhand right. Sutherland connects with a kick under the armpit, then scores with an inside leg kick. Trabelsi fails in his bid for a takedown, resets in the center of the cage and paws away with his jab while in a slow retreat. He follows a jab into a single-leg takedown, scrambles behind Sutherland and wanders into a kneebar. Trabelsi frees his leg, then wheels behind a kneeling Sutherland and passes to side control. Undoubtedly exhausted at this point, Sutherland moves to a kneeling position and tries to get back to his feet. Trabelsi smothers him and forces it back to side control. Elbows and punches follow. Less than a minute to go, and the outcome here looks like a formality. Sutherland escapes to his feet, lets fly with an overhand right and concedes another takedown. Trabelsi takes top position and bleeds the remaining time off the clock.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi (30-27 Trabelsi)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi (30-27 Trabelsi)
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Trabelsi (30-27 Trabelsi)

The Official Result

Slim Trabelsi def. Louie Sutherland—Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Archie Colgan (154.9) vs. Thibault Gouti (157.7)

Round 1

Perhaps the most intriguing prospect on the card, Colgan (9-0, 6-0 Bellator) faces a significant step up in competition against Gouti (17-6, 2-1 Bellator) in a three-round featherweight showcase. Gouti missed weight for the match by nearly two pounds and forfeited a percentage of his purse. Beltran draws the officiating assignment. Gouti opens with his jab, commands the center of the cage and gets off a few combinations. Colgan follows a jab into a double-leg takedown, scores with a mat return and maintains a body lock, as Gouti gets to his feet. Colgan answers with a trip takedown, then another. With Gouti kneeling at the base of the cage, Colgan cuts loose with a stream of unanswered left hands. The former University of Wyoming wrestler dominating the early action here. Gouti retreats to his back and appears to be bleeding from at least one cut. Colgan progresses to side control and continues to apply his ground-and-pound. Gouti reclaims full guard and looks for a breather with a minute to go in the round. Smothering pressure from Colgan. Gouti scores with an elbow from the bottom, but Colgan seems undeterred. He rides out the rest of the round in top position, feeding Gouti punches to the body and head.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-8 Colgan
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Colgan
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Colgan

Round 2

Needless to say, Gouti wants to keep this on the feet. He stands flat-footed in the center of the cage and paws with his jab, wary of a takedown that figures to come at some point. Colgan feints a level change, keeps his hands high and marches forward. Gouti jabs to the body. Colgan slowly closing in on the UFC veteran and lands a glancing uppercut. Colgan dives on the legs and secures a takedown with three minutes left on the clock. He forces Gouti to a kneeling position along the fence and hammers away with right hands to the head. Gouti clings to the gloves and grabs the fence, receiving a warning for both infractions. Colgan mixes knees to the body with punches to the head. Gouti gets back to his feet. Colgan answers with brutal foot stomps to the toes, then dumps him back to the mat. He feeds Gouti knees to the body and continues to pile up points with short punches to the head, varying the intensity of his strikes. Gouti has no answers. A dominant performance from Colgan so far.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Colgan
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Colgan
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Colgan

Round 3

Gouti fires the jab to start the round. Colgan maintains a strong defensive shell and manages to block much of the incoming fire. Gouti connects with a nice left hook to the body. Colgan follows a jab into a double-leg takedown and drives his opponent to a kneeling position along the fence. Gouti escapes and drifts into the center of the cage. Colgan slams home a left hook, follows it with a right uppercut, resets and lets the punches flow. A left hook sends Gouti stumbling backward. Colgan pursues him to the canvas, wheels behind him and blasts away with rights and lefts. Credit to Gouti for staying in the fight, as lesser men might have folded long ago. He gets back to his feet with a little more than a minute to go. Colgan not backing down despite a clear lead on the scorecards. Gouti looks weary and understandably so. Colgan presses forward with a high guard but eats a few left hooks. They exchange in the waning seconds. Colgan looks like a future star.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Colgan (30-26 Colgan)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Colgan (30-27 Colgan)
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Colgan (30-27 Colgan)

The Official Result

Archie Colgan def. Thibault Gouti—Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Yves Landu (145.4) vs. Jonas Bilharinho (145.9)

Round 1

Featherweights answer the call to arms, as the resurgent Landu (20-9, 5-1 Bellator) squares off with Bilharinho (11-2-1, 0-0 Bellator). Peterson administers the law and order for this 145-pound confrontation. They tap gloves and get down to business. Landu counters an ill-advised spinning attack with a takedown and crowds the Brazilian in side control. Bilharinho tries and fails to claim full guard. Landu keeps him away from the fence and continues to apply pressure from above. Bilharinho gets back to a standing position, though the Frenchman sticks to him like glue. Landu scores with a pair of shoulder strikes, eats an elbow to the kidney and scrambles into top position. Bilharinho kicks him away briefly, but Landu drops a series of standing-to-ground bombs and wheels behind his opponent. He has been a step ahead of Bilharinho to this point. Landu lands a few close-range knees to the body, then another to the liver. Bilharhino crumples at the base of the fence in visible distress, and Landu follows up with punches. Bilharinho appears to have avoided the stoppage, though he was clearly hurt and figures to be compromised for the remainder of the fight.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-8 Landu
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Landu
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-8 Landu

Round 2

The southpaws get back to business after the one-minute respite. Bilharinho trying to keep a safe distance with kicks to the body and lead leg, one of which spins around the Frenchman. Landu ducks under a sweeping left hook and completes a takedown. Bilharinho returns to his feet but finds himself trapped the clinch. The Brazilian secures underhooks and delivers a beautiful body lock takedown. Bilharinho moves behind Landu and eventually drags him back to the mat. Landu having trouble disengaging in the clinch, but uses a kimura to roll into top position. He then transitions to a potential armbar, with Bilharinho desperately defending. Bilharinho moves to a more advantageous position, stacks Landu and frees his limb from danger. Landu stands from the butt scoot position.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Bilharinho
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Landu
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Landu

Round 3

Bilharinho turns away a single-leg takedown attempt and stalks with a wide stance. The Brazilian fires a body kick and follows it with a left hand. Bilharinho sprawls on a takedown, but Landu sticks with it to completion. Landu sticks to Bilharinho as they return to a standing position. He dumps Bilharinho back to the canvas and exercises some control midway through the round. Landu not giving him space to breathe, much less operate. Bilharinho separates and connects with a partially blocked spinning back kick to the body. Time running out on the Brazilian with less than a minute to left. Landu circles effectively on the outside, forcing his opponent to give chase. Landu keeps him at bay with a snappy jab and starts to coast as time expires.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Landu (29-27 Landu)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Landu (30-26 Landu)
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Bilharinho (29-28 Landu)

The Official Result

Yves Landu def. Jonas Bilharinho—Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Gregory Babene (185.7) vs. Costello van Steenis (185.8)

Round 1

Business picks up with a middleweight title eliminator between France’s Babene (23-11, 5-0 Bellator) and Holland’s van Steenis (14-3, 6-2 Bellator), with the winner likely moving on to challenge current 185-pound champion Johnny Eblen. The 40-year-old Babene, who has not lost since April 9, 2013, has rattled off eight consecutive finishes, seven of them inside one round. Beltran goes to the post as the referee. Babene rips a right hook to the body and channels his inner Anderson Silva with unorthodox movements in a bid to force van Steenis to throw. Van Steenis lures him into close range and scores with a takedown roughly a minute into the match. The Dutchman smothers Babene in top position and begins to work in some ground-and-pound. Van Steenis frees himself from a triangle choke and moves to north-south position. He grinds elbows into Babene’s head and settles back into side control. Elbows, forearm strikes and short punches follow. Babene tries to bridge out, to no avail. Van Steenis outgrappling the Frenchman to this point. He powers into mount with 45 seconds to go, forces Babene to scramble, briefly threatens the neck and attacks with punches. Babene escapes to his feet and lets his hands go as the round sounds.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 van Steenis
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 van Steenis
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 van Steenis

Round 2

Van Steenis drives a rear-leg front kick into the Frenchman’s midsection, then fires a jab and a leg kick. They trade leg kicks, with neither man gaining a discernible advantage. Babene having issues getting his offense in gear. Van Steenis cracks him with a check hook, distracts him with a head kick and swoops in for a double-leg takedown. The Dutchman again works to side control, with Babene clinging to a guillotine. The setup for the shoulder choke in place, van Steenis locks his hands, applies maximum pressure and finishes it.

The Official Result

Costello van Steenis def. Gregory Babene—Submission (Shoulder Choke) 2:16 R2

Cedric Doumbe (175.5) vs. Jaleel Willis (174.6)

Round 1

Bellator Champions Series 2 has arrive at its catchweight co-main event, where the electrifying Doumbe (5-1, 0-0 Bellator) makes his organizational debut opposite Willis (16-5, 4-3 Bellator) in an animosity-laced battle at 175 pounds. Beltran serves as the third man in the cage. Willis tries to keep Doumbe at bay with kicks to the body, legs and head. Doumbe sprawls on a takedown and wobbles his opponent with a cross upstairs. He catches an attempted knee from Willis, floors him with a clean right, dives in top position and exits back to his feet. Willis still on unsteady feet. Doumbe stalks, backs the American to the fence and slips while dodging a sweeping hook. Chants of “Doumbe!” echo in the arena. Doumbe still in the process of decoding his opponent. Wilis eats a wild right hook in the middle of an exchange, faceplants and shells up on all fours. Doumbe swarms with punches, and Willis fails to mount anything resembling intelligent defense, even as he gets back to his feet. Beltran intervenes.

The Official Result

Cedric Doumbe def. Jaleel Willis—TKO (Punches) 3:33 R1

Bellator MMA Bantamweight World Title Bout:
Patrick Mix (135) vs. Magomed Magomedov (135)

Round 1

A bantamweight title fight closes the show, as Mix (19-1, 8-1 Bellator) puts his title on the line against Magomedov (20-3, 4-2 Bellator) in the five-round headliner. It marks the second encounter between the two, with Mix having put the Russian to sleep with a guillotine choke at Bellator 289 in December 2022. Peterson draws the officiating assignment. They touch gloves, and the rematch gets underway. Mix connects with an inside low kick, then targets the body. Another inside leg kick finds the mark, then another. Magomedov already looks a bit tentative. Mix drills the Russian with a right hook upstairs and continues to target the legs with sharp kicks, making sure to cover up against counterattacks. Magomedov’s inability to get from Point A to Point B in a straight line with his punches proving problematic for the challenger. Mix commands the center of the cage, pecks away with punches and once again zeroes in on the inside of the lead leg. A left hand from Magomedov stuns the champion out of nowhere, but Mix manages to lure him into the clinch after a follow-up flurry. Mix appears to have steadied himself.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov

Round 2

Mix takes the center of the cage. Magomedov opens with more aggression. He catches a kick, dips in a takedown and wanders into a guillotine. Mix bites down on the choke, but the challenger escapes and settles in full guard. Mix works his way back to his feet. Magomedov connects with hooks from both hands. Tide seems to have turned, at least temporarily. Mix fires an inside leg kick and tries to get his jab in gear. A check right hook lands for Mix, but the Russian walks through it. Magomedov uncorks a front kick to the body, then sends sweeping hooks upstairs. Mix drops him to a knee with another leg kick, then sneaks in a right hook. A sharp jab stuns Magomedov, who recovers and throws in combination. Mix starts to cut off the cage, forcing the challenge to initiate an exchange.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Mix
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Mix

Round 3

Magomedov steps forward with body kicks, misses on both and ducks in on a takedown. Mix bites down on another guillotine, and though he fails to procure a finish, he manages to take top position. Magomedov scrambles to his feet, eats a close-range knee and resets himself standing. Mix connects with a looping left hook. Magomedov answers with a body kick. He Russian steps into a jarring left hand, swarms and connects with a right hook, then chooses to clinch. Mix was in trouble again but seems to have cleared the cobwebs. He jabs as the separate. Magomedov finds a home for a leg kick, then another, and hunts for openings. His jab is starting to become a factor. Magomedov throws a hook kick to end the round, resulting in a glancing blow.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov

Round 4

Magomedov follows a one-two with a knee up the middle. Mix shoots on the hips, clinches and fires up the middle. Champion definitely in a dogfight, no matter how one has it scored to this point. Magomedov fires a left hook around his rival’s defenses, paws with his jab and dodges a knee strike and head kicks. Mix works behind his jab and controls the center. Magomedov touches the inside leg with a pair of kicks and circles on the outside. Mix follows a jab with a sneaky right hook. Magomedov steps into a left hand, but Mix stands his ground. The challenger connects with a right hand and follows it with a knee that clangs off the body. Some dirty boxing from both men near the end of the round, with Mix connecting with knees to the body.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Mix
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Mix

Round 5

Mix opens with an inside leg kick, doubles up on the jab and fires his left hand behind it. They clinch in the center, and more dirty boxing ensues. Magomedov lands a body kick at close range, then eats a kick below the belt. The accidental foul results in a brief pause. Magomedov picks up the pace upon the restart. He whiffs on a Superman punch but follows it with a left hand. Magomedov clinches and lands a knee up the middle. Mix drives him backward into the cage but goes nowhere with a takedown attempt. Mix walks through a right hand and shoots on the hips. Magomedov widens his base, forcing the champion to turn to a body lock. No luck for Mix. Magomedov sprawls on another takedown, forcing Mix back to the clinch. Still anyone’s round—and fight. Mix lands a knee to the body and a right hand over the top on the break before drifting back into open space. Ninety seconds to go. Mix continues to control the center of the cage, as he has done for much of the bout. The champion shoots on the hips and once again forces a tie-up. Valuable time ticking off the clock for Magomedov, who tries and fails to break free. Mix sneaks in an elbow before they separate. The round ends without anything of consequence landing in the final exchange.

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Mix (48-47 Mix)
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov (50-45 Magomedov)
J.L. Kirven scores the round: 10-9 Magomedov (48-47 Magomedov)

The Official Result

Patrick Mix def. Magomed Magomedov—Split Decision (46-49, 48-47, 48-47)