Bellator 194 Official Results & Photographs

Uncasville, CT (Sat, February 17, 2018)–  Friday February 16th, 2018 Bellator MMA brought their highly anticipated Heavyweight Tournament to the Mohegan Sun Casino Arena in Uncasville, CT with Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs Matt “Meathead” Mitrione. Each vet was looking to make a statement in the 1st round of their tournament appearance and move on. In interviews with each this past week, both Mitrione and Nelson called for a KO victory and easy win to move on. As you will read that was far from what happened in this 3-round brawl.

The Co-Main event put up Bellator Vet and company man Patricky Pitbull vs another Bellator vet in Derek Campos. By looking at each fighters record you would think this fight could end at any moment and boy did it not disappoint.

Former boxing world champs (WBC) would face off in a highly anticipated fight between Heather “the heat” Hardy fighting out of Brooklyn, NY and Ana “the hurricane” Julaton who is fighting out of TMT in las vegas NV. Hardy is looking to bounce back from a devastating last fight KO loss last November in the same arena to Kristina Williams.

FightBookMMA was on scene and you can find our play by play, official results and photographs.

Tyler Hamilton 1-0 (154.5) BLUE vs. Pat Casey Debut (155.5) RED
Lightweight

Rd1 Keith Pederson starts the action. Blue with some quick jabs Heavy hands by both. Casey with a heavy right, blue with the clinch on the cage. They separate. Standup by both, no big shots yet. Casey throws him down. Casey is the aggressor. Takedown attempt stopped by blue, Red is laying it on. End of the round, both on their feet good jab by Casey to end the round.

Rd2. Crowd is chanting “Casey” as the round starts. Big support. Both have center control of the ring, Casey is throwing hands to the mid of Hamilton. Hard right by Casey. Red knocks him down. Red pounces. Both back up. Again, both throwing hands but no big shots to hurt each other.

Rd3 Round starts with Casey taking the center. Right misses by Casey. Hit to the mid by Red. Much of the same Trading punch for punch, nothing substantial. Heavy knees by red. Blue with a missing rear punch. Not much but some typical standup, no take down attempts. Fight ends with a hard kick to the head of Casey
Decision 30-27 for Pat Casey unanimous.

Peter Nascimento Debut (163.5) BLUE vs. Kastriot Xhema 1-1 (164.5) RED
Catchweight (165)

Rd1 Xhema with some kicks to start. Hard kicks to Nascimento. Hard left and right to blue. Stays on his feet. They clinch with hard dirty boxing by red. Blue responds. The left kick to the right leg by Red is doing some damage. Hard right drops blue. Kastriot pounces. Red lets him up after a few hard hits on the ground. Again, blue goes down by a kick, red gets on top. Ground and pound but red is on his feet the entire time. Both back up. Blue clinches on the cage. Hard left by red drops blue and ref Dan Mirgliata stops the fight @3:52 of the very first round by TKO for Xhema.

Dean Hancock 3-1 (155.25) BLUE vs. Marcus Surin 4-1 (156) RED vs.
Lightweight

Rd1 Stars with Handcock as the aggressor. Hard left by red to the face. Red shoots in for the takedown and gets it. Back up quickly. Hard right by Hancock to the face. Trying to feel each other out, quick jabs by both. Hard kicks by blue, hit to the mid Surin. Blue with a takedown but the get back up. Red with a takedown and gets Blue’s back. Ground and pound. Blue has his back, both up. Clinch by both on the cage. Slam by Red. They go to the ground with red pounding away from half guard. Blue reverses and gets his back. Red lands in side control after a scrap rolling on the canvas. Back up as the round ends.

Rd2 Starts with some jabs by blue, left uppercut by red misses. Red with a takedown and gets his back. Try’s to sink in the RNC but its stopped. Again, he sinks it in, but blue is able to defend. Elbows to the mid of Red. Back up to their feet. Clinch on the cage with red again gaining the back of blue and they go down. Red is trying for the sub from the back but again they stand up and clinch. Blue with a big slam but red is able to get the back and try’s another RNC. Blue has great hand defense against the RNC. Side choke by red. As soon as he sinks it in Ref steps in and stops the fight. @4:50 arm triangle choke for Marcus. Great submission win.

Walter Howard 3-4 (203) BLUE vs. Jarod Trice 2-0 (205.5) RED
Light- Heavyweight

Rd1 Starts with the hand touch. Hard left by Red. Try’s a takedown, no good. Jabs by both. Right by Trice to the face, didn’t faze Howard. Right connects for red. Kick to the mid by red. Standup fight for sure, both trying for the one punch KO. Red shoots but is stopped. Round ends on their feet.

Rd2 starts with red throwing to end the fight now. They clinch on the cage. Eye poke to red. Ref Dan Miragliotta takes a point with no warning from Howard. Back at it with jabs by both. Nothing significant landing. Clinch and some jabs by blue. Both are getting tired and can tell by their punches. Red is throwing heavy hands that are not connecting and the round ends.

Rd3. They tap gloves and the 3rd round begins. Right jab by red. Lands. Heavy hands by both. Blue lands some hard shots the head. Hard shots to the body by Red. They clinch. Knee to the mid by blue. Blue with right and left jabs connecting. Blue misses a jab and falls. Blue tries to take the back but they get back to their feet. Red drops blue with a left jab and punches on the ground. Right jabs as red has the back on the ground. Both very tired. Elbows by red. Red tries the RNC but quickly lets go. Back to the feet. They tie up on the cage. Red is throwing all he has as the final 50 seconds count down. Hard kick to the head of red and it wobbles him. Hard head kicks by blue to the head of Red and the fight ends. Judges scores 28/28 29/27 for Trice Majority Decision

Geoffrey Then 1-1 (135) BLUE vs. Michael Kimble Debut (135.75) RED
Bantamweight

Rd1. Keith Pederson gets us started. Hard kick and punch by red to start. Left and right by the young Kimble. He is the aggressor to start. Hard right knocks blue to the mat. Kimble pounces and Blue tries to sink in a quick arm bar from his back. Kimble picks up Then and slams him hard to break up the arm bar attempt. He punches to the face of Then and that quick the ref steps in and stops the fight. @.17 of the very first round by TKO. Amazing quick KO win by the young 20yr old.

Ronie Arana Leon Debut (156) BLUE vs. Ross Richardson Debut (155.5) RED
Lightweight

Rd1 Starts with Leon leaping like a frog literally at his opponent, one of the oddest starts I have witnessed. Red then take him down and gets top control. Elbows from top. More elbows and shots to the mid from blue. Richardson still controlling the top as he is trying to pass guard. Blue can’t seem to get out from under him, then he stands up but Red again takes him down. Red is still not able to pass guard from the top, but he is dropping elbows and jabs to the head. Hard right elbow again and shots to the mid. Red seems to be able to take blue down at will but can’t do much with it significantly strikes wise. Round ends with red on top.

Rd2 starts jabs by red, hard left to blue. High kick misses by red. Kick to the mid by red, he tries an immediate takedown. They clinch and then go down. Richardson on top. Red pounds away from top but blue can not get out and Ref Dan Miragliotta steps in to stop the fight. @ 1:44 of Rd two for Red, TKO victory.

Main Card Live on Paramount Network 9 pm

Jose Antonio Perez B 0-1 (142) BLUE vs. Ty-wan Claxton R 1-0 (145) RED
Featherweight

Rd1 starts with a hand tap in the center. Hard right kick by blue. Takedown attempt by blue is not successful. Red with a takedown as blue shoots in. Red lands on top. Shots to the mid by Claxton. He is tiring to pass guard as he has the wrestling experience. Side control as he jabs to the head. Hard elbow from the top by red. Numerous ones to the head but Perez is taking them. Triangle choke attempted by red not successful but the elbows rain down again on blue. Round ends with heavy ground and pound by Claxton.

Rd 2 with red as the aggressor, jab to the mid. Red shoots in for the takedown, land in mount. Again with the ground and pound from the top. Hard rights to the face by red on top, blue pulls him in. Ref stops in and stops the fight @3:39 by TKO for Claxton.

Ana Julaton 2-3 (125) BLUE vs. Heather Hardy 1-1 (126) RED
Women’s Flyweight

Rd1 round starts with a few leg kicks by both. They clinch. Blue has Hardy on the cage. Trying to take Hardy down. Hardy has her arm around the neck of blue. They get off the cage. Julaton is trying for the takedown. Hardy with the standing choke. Blue punches the mid of Hardy to try to get out. Still trying the standing choke as the crowd boos. Not much action. They go down and Hardy still has the choke in. Pounding away, Hardy from the top. Has the choke and its tight but the round ends.
Rd2 starts with some boxing by both. Left and right by Hardy. Left by blue, doesn’t faze Hardy. Takedown by blue, she gets top control. Hardy with punches from her back. Hardy up and takes Blues back. Hardy with punches to blue, lots of them. RNC attempt by Hardy again. Its out. Blue ends up on top as Hardy tries a side choke. Hard punch by blue on top. Round ends
Rd3 Final round starts, and they take the center of the cage. They clinch again with Julaton having Hardy on the cage. Ref stops the action and they face off in the center. They clinch again and again the ref breaks them up. Left by hardy. The clinch is on again. Ref steps in for the 3rd time. 30 seconds left and they are both gassed. Round ends with a takedown by Hardy but blue rolls on top. Judge’s decision 29/28 30/27 for Hardy.

Vadim Nemkov 8-2 (205) BLUE vs. Liam McGeary 12-2 (203.75) RED
Light-Heavyweight

RD 1 starts with a hard kick by Red. Front kick. Leg kicks by blue to start. Kicks by blue as he takes the center. Blue is the aggressor. Hard kicks to the right of McGeary. Blue shoots in but red stops that with a front kick. Hard jab by blue. Right by Blue to the head of red. Kick to the mid by blue. Hard jabs by both. Blue is picking his shots. Hard right by blue. Picking him apart. Blue missed by inches with two hard shots. Liam with a hard kick to the mid to get some distance. Hard left by blue. Round comes to an end with a failed attempt by blue.

Rd 2 Red with the jabs and kicks. Starting to pick up the pressure. Hard right by blue. They exchange and red takes him down. Ground and pound by blue. They stand up. Hard right to red, he takes it. All blue with the right hands all landing. Body shot by blue. Hard kick to the mid of Red. Blue steps it up with some jabs. Hard legs kicks take a toll and Liam limps to his corner.

Rd3. Starts with red limping bad, blue smells blood. They go down and red stays on his back. They get back up. Red goes down by a kick. Blue pounces but nothing comes of it. Kicks and more kicks by blue. Liam goes down one last time with a kick and Dan Miragliotta steps in and stops the fight. @4:02 rd. 3. Liam was not able to walk out of the cage on his own due to the leg injury and had to be carried away. Nemkov’s both feet were badly bruised in this fight.

Derek Campos 19-6 (154) BLUE vs. Patricky Pitbull 18-8 (155) RED
Lightweight

Rd1 Co main event time. Both feeling each other out in the center. Campos the aggressor. Few jabs to Red. Hard leg kick by Pitbull. Hard left by Pitbull and it drops Campos. Patricky pounces and throws lefts and rights that connect. Ref Kevin MacDonald steps in to stop the fight @2:23 of the very first round by TKO. Patricky wants that belt next fight and makes sure everyone knows this in his post-fight interview with Chael Sonnon.

Matt Mitrione 12-5 (255) BLUE vs. Roy Nelson 23-14 (265) RED
Heavyweight

Rd1 of the 2nd step of the heavyweight tourney starts now. Heavy left by Matt. Left and right by Mitrione to the head. Matt unloads on Roy. Left again by Mitrione. Right inside leg kick by Matt. Right by Roy lands. Again, kick by Mitrione. High kick by Mitrione. Hard right to the head by Matt. Hard right by Roy. Hard hands by matt. They go to the ground but back up quickly. Roy has clinch on the cage. Roy takes him down and ends up on top. Roy is trying for full mount. He has side control. Matt tries a choke from the ground. Roy stays on top and lands a right to end the round.

Rd2. Kick by Matt stumbles Roy. Left and right by Matt land. Leg kick to the left of Roy is hurting him. Hard hard punches by Mitrione, all landing. Right lands for Matt to the head. His jabs are all striking Roy. Left kick to the mid of Roy. Both are seeming to tire a bit as lazy punches miss. Hard right by Roy. He picks Matt up and slams him to the canvas. Gets top control. Roy is trying to get a clear shot and he lands a left as the round end and he’s on top.
Rd3 they touch gloves and its on. Hard right by matt. Followed by a kick to the leg. Roy shoots but Matt avoids him. Hard right to the head of Roy. Jabs by Mitrione are all connecting. Hard kick to the mid. Roy shoots again and takes him down. Roy has top and side control and is laying on him. Roy gets top and pounds away on Matt. He keeps pounding away, Matt is not doing much to defend. They get up and clinch. Roy takes him down again. Hard punches by Roy to end the round. Judge’s decision 28/28 and 29/28 for Mitrione. The crowd did not like this outcome as the boos were so loud we could not hear the post-fight interview! Mitrione now moves on the 2nd round of the Bellator Heavyweight Tourney.

Bellator 194 Official Results:

Tywan Claxton (2-0) defeated Jose Perez (0-2) via TKO (elbows) at 3:39 of round two

Vadim Nemkov (9-2) defeated Liam McGeary (12-3) via TKO (leg kicks) at 4:02 of round three

Heather Hardy (2-1) defeated Ana Julaton (2-4) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (19-8) defeated Derek Campos (19-7) via TKO (punches) at 2:23 of round one

Matt Mitrione (13-5) defeated Roy Nelson (23-15) via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Pat Casey (1-0) defeated Tyler Hamilton (1-1) via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Kastriot Xhema (2-1) defeated Peter Nascimento (0-1) via TKO (punches) at 3:52 of round one

Marcus Surin (5-1) defeated Dean Hancock (3-2) via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:50 of round two

Jarod Trice (3-0) defeated Walter Howard (3-5) via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27)

Regivaldo Carvalho (5-2) defeated Tom English (6-9) via KO (punches) at :17 of round one

Michael Kimbel (1-0) defeated Geoffrey Then (0-2) via TKO (punches) at 1:03 of round one

Ross Richardson (1-0) defeated Ron Leon (0-1) via TKO (punches) at 1:41 of round two

Article by Jarett Kelly