Douglas Lima Unseats Rory MacDonald, Reclaims Welterweight Crown in Bellator 232 Headliner
The Bellator
MMA welterweight championship once again rests upon the capable
shoulder of Douglas
Lima.
A punishing jab, well-timed takedowns and airtight takedown defense carried the Atlanta-based Brazilian to a unanimous decision over Rory MacDonald in the Bellator 232 headliner on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Lima (32-7, 14-3) swept the scorecards in the Bellator welterweight grand prix final, eliciting 49-46, 50-45 and 50-45 marks from the judges.
MacDonald (21-6-1, 3-2-1 Bellator) seemed tentative and unsure of
himself for much of the match, perhaps a residual effect from his
first encounter with “The Phenom” a little less than two years ago
-- a fight he won but a fight in which Lima’s crushing kicks
exacted a serious toll on the Canadian’s lead leg. Lima picked up
steam with each passing round, leaned on his jab, continued to
blast the Tristar Gym export with leg kicks and shut down his
repeated bids for takedowns. He knocked down MacDonald with a leg
kick in the fifth round, scrambled into top position and cut loose
with ground-and-pound. MacDonald sprang a reversal in the final
minute but could not muster the finish he needed to erase the
deficit on the scorecards.
Now a three-time Bellator champion at 170 pounds, Lima has rattled off three consecutive victories.
Daley (42-17-2, 8-4 Bellator) loosened up once he defended the Californian’s first takedown attempt, as he scored with thudding leg kicks, power punches from both hands and even a stepping upward elbow. He turned up the heat on Awad in the second round, connected with a savage left hook to the body and later countered with a short left hook to the head that folded him like a collapsible hamper. After a brief burst of follow-up hammerfists from Daley, referee Kevin MacDonald waved it off.
Awad, 36, has lost four fights in a row.
Meanwhile, undefeated Jackson-Wink MMA prospect Patrick Mix submitted Isaiah Chapman with a kneebar in the first round of their bantamweight showcase. A short-notice replacement for Dominic Mazzotta, Chapman (9-4, 0-1 Bellator) conceded defeat 3:49 into Round 1.
Mix (12-0, 2-0 Bellator) landed a takedown into side control, shifted to the back and cemented his advantage with a body triangle. From there, he methodically wore down Chapman with crushing pressure, intermittent ground-and-pound and occasional submission attempts. Mix eventually isolated the World Series of Fighting veteran’s leg from the Suloev Stretch position and extended the knee to force the tapout.
The submission win was the eighth of Mix’s career.
Elsewhere, former Rage in the Cage and Sugar Creek Showdown champion Luis Muro nailed down his second straight win, as he eked out a split decision over Nick Newell in a three-round catchweight pairing at 160 pounds. Scores were 29-28 and 29-28 for Muro, 29-27 for Newell.
Newell (16-3, 1-1 Bellator) enjoyed a dominant first round, where he threatened with a guillotine choke, transitioned to top position, unleashed elbow-laced ground-and-pound and ultimately advanced to the back. However, his effort to finish came at a price, and he slowed noticeably in the middle stanza, allowing Muro (11-6, 2-0 Bellator) to seize control. The 32-year-old exploited a diminished Newell in Round 3, as he executed multiple takedowns, moved to the back, secured position with hooks and pestered the Dana White’s Contender Series alum with short punches and attempted chokes.
The loss snapped Newell’s two-fight winning streak.
Finally, Team Bodyshop representative Kevin Ferguson Jr. cut down Craig Campbell with elbows and punches in the first round of their catchweight feature at 160 pounds. Campbell (2-4, 0-1 Bellator) bowed out 38 seconds into Round 1.
Ferguson (4-2, 4-2 Bellator) gave the organizational newcomer pause with a pair of stinging leg kicks, then denied an attempted takedown. Campbell left his head exposed while clinging to his counterpart’s legs along the fence, as he ate a fight-ending volley of elbows -- one of which appeared to connect to the back of the head -- and hammerfists.
The 27-year-old Ferguson has won four of his last five fights.
In other action, Lance Gibson Jr. (3-0, 1-0 Bellator) knocked out Dominic Jones (2-3, 0-1 Bellator) with elbows and punches 1:58 into the first round of their lightweight scrap; Devin Powell (10-4, 1-0 Bellator) choked Marcus Surin (6-2, 2-2 Bellator) unconscious with a guillotine 5:00 into the second round of their lightweight confrontation; Ryan Hardy Evans (1-1, 1-1 Bellator) submitted Demetrius Plaza (1-1, 1-1 Bellator) with a rear-naked choke 3:03 into the third round of their welterweight encounter; Johnny Lopez (12-4, 2-1 Bellator) took a unanimous decision from Dan Cormier (8-10, 0-1 Bellator) in a 15-minute flyweight clash; Jornel Lugo (3-0, 1-0 Bellator) laid claim to a unanimous decision over John Douma (4-2, 1-1 Bellator) in a three-round bantamweight affair, drawing 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 marks from the judges; and Zarrukh Adashev (3-1, 3-0 Bellator) wiped out Tevin Dyce (3-2, 0-1 Bellator) with punches 1:39 into the second round of their flyweight tilt.
A punishing jab, well-timed takedowns and airtight takedown defense carried the Atlanta-based Brazilian to a unanimous decision over Rory MacDonald in the Bellator 232 headliner on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Lima (32-7, 14-3) swept the scorecards in the Bellator welterweight grand prix final, eliciting 49-46, 50-45 and 50-45 marks from the judges.
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Now a three-time Bellator champion at 170 pounds, Lima has rattled off three consecutive victories.
In a co-main event contested at a 175-pound catchweight, former
Cage Rage champion Paul Daley
disposed of Saad Awad with
second-round punches. A short-notice replacement for Sabah
Homasi, Awad (23-13, 11-10 Bellator) succumbed to blows 1:30
into Round 2.
Daley (42-17-2, 8-4 Bellator) loosened up once he defended the Californian’s first takedown attempt, as he scored with thudding leg kicks, power punches from both hands and even a stepping upward elbow. He turned up the heat on Awad in the second round, connected with a savage left hook to the body and later countered with a short left hook to the head that folded him like a collapsible hamper. After a brief burst of follow-up hammerfists from Daley, referee Kevin MacDonald waved it off.
Awad, 36, has lost four fights in a row.
Meanwhile, undefeated Jackson-Wink MMA prospect Patrick Mix submitted Isaiah Chapman with a kneebar in the first round of their bantamweight showcase. A short-notice replacement for Dominic Mazzotta, Chapman (9-4, 0-1 Bellator) conceded defeat 3:49 into Round 1.
Mix (12-0, 2-0 Bellator) landed a takedown into side control, shifted to the back and cemented his advantage with a body triangle. From there, he methodically wore down Chapman with crushing pressure, intermittent ground-and-pound and occasional submission attempts. Mix eventually isolated the World Series of Fighting veteran’s leg from the Suloev Stretch position and extended the knee to force the tapout.
The submission win was the eighth of Mix’s career.
Elsewhere, former Rage in the Cage and Sugar Creek Showdown champion Luis Muro nailed down his second straight win, as he eked out a split decision over Nick Newell in a three-round catchweight pairing at 160 pounds. Scores were 29-28 and 29-28 for Muro, 29-27 for Newell.
Newell (16-3, 1-1 Bellator) enjoyed a dominant first round, where he threatened with a guillotine choke, transitioned to top position, unleashed elbow-laced ground-and-pound and ultimately advanced to the back. However, his effort to finish came at a price, and he slowed noticeably in the middle stanza, allowing Muro (11-6, 2-0 Bellator) to seize control. The 32-year-old exploited a diminished Newell in Round 3, as he executed multiple takedowns, moved to the back, secured position with hooks and pestered the Dana White’s Contender Series alum with short punches and attempted chokes.
The loss snapped Newell’s two-fight winning streak.
Finally, Team Bodyshop representative Kevin Ferguson Jr. cut down Craig Campbell with elbows and punches in the first round of their catchweight feature at 160 pounds. Campbell (2-4, 0-1 Bellator) bowed out 38 seconds into Round 1.
Ferguson (4-2, 4-2 Bellator) gave the organizational newcomer pause with a pair of stinging leg kicks, then denied an attempted takedown. Campbell left his head exposed while clinging to his counterpart’s legs along the fence, as he ate a fight-ending volley of elbows -- one of which appeared to connect to the back of the head -- and hammerfists.
The 27-year-old Ferguson has won four of his last five fights.
In other action, Lance Gibson Jr. (3-0, 1-0 Bellator) knocked out Dominic Jones (2-3, 0-1 Bellator) with elbows and punches 1:58 into the first round of their lightweight scrap; Devin Powell (10-4, 1-0 Bellator) choked Marcus Surin (6-2, 2-2 Bellator) unconscious with a guillotine 5:00 into the second round of their lightweight confrontation; Ryan Hardy Evans (1-1, 1-1 Bellator) submitted Demetrius Plaza (1-1, 1-1 Bellator) with a rear-naked choke 3:03 into the third round of their welterweight encounter; Johnny Lopez (12-4, 2-1 Bellator) took a unanimous decision from Dan Cormier (8-10, 0-1 Bellator) in a 15-minute flyweight clash; Jornel Lugo (3-0, 1-0 Bellator) laid claim to a unanimous decision over John Douma (4-2, 1-1 Bellator) in a three-round bantamweight affair, drawing 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 marks from the judges; and Zarrukh Adashev (3-1, 3-0 Bellator) wiped out Tevin Dyce (3-2, 0-1 Bellator) with punches 1:39 into the second round of their flyweight tilt.
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