As part of the Bellator MMA featherweight grand prix, Patricio Freire put his featherweight belt on the line against Pedro Carvalho in the main event of Bellator 252.
The welterweight co-main event saw Yaroslav Amosov and Logan Storley test their skills against one another for 15 minutes. Both fighters were undefeated going into the bout, but it was Amosov (25-0) that kept his perfect record intact. "Dynamo" was able to outwork Storley (11-1) over the first rounds and survived a rear-naked choke scare late in Round 3. After 15 minutes, the judges delivered a split verdict with Amosov taking two of three 29-28 scorecards.
The main card opened with another five-round featherweight grand prix bout as Sanchez faced Daniel Weichel in a rematch of their Bellator 159 bout that saw Weichel take a split decision. The bodywork of Sanchez made a huge difference as a liver shot in Round 2 sat down Weichel. While Sanchez was unable to get the finish, the damage was done, and "El Matador" cruised to a unanimous decision win with scores of 48-46, 49-46 and 49-45. Both of the semi-final bouts are now set as A.J. McKee will face Darrion Caldwell on Nov. 19 and Sanchez will face Freire at a later date.
In preliminary action, Aaron Pico (7-3) blasted John de Jesus (13-9) with a huge overhand right at 4:12 of the second frame; Keri Melendez (5-0) submitted Emilee King (4-4) with a rear-naked choke just 3:02 into Round 1; Luis Muro (12-6) won a unanimous decision over Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Devin Powell (10-5), who retired after the bout; Jornel Lugo (5-0) picked up a unanimous decision victory over Schyler Sootho (4-1) with scorecards of 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in his favor; Lucas Brennan (4-0) earned a dominant unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26) over Andrew Salas (6-5); Roman Faraldo (4-0) put away Pat Casey (6-4) with an impressive flying knee at 2:30 of Round 2; and Trevor Gudde (2-1) stunned Khonry Gracie (2-2) with a big knee at 3:28 of Round 3 in the night's opening contest.