Bellator 257 Results

by Brian Woodman Jr. on 04/17/21

(April 16 – Uncasville, CT)

Vadim Nemkov (13-2) defeated Phil Davis (22-5, with one no-contest) by unanimous decision during the main event of Bellator 257 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Nemkov, who is Bellator’s current light heavyweight champion, has advanced to the semi-finals for the organization’s Grand Prix in that weight class – he will face the winner of a bout between Yoel Romero (13-5) and Anthony Johnson (22-6) on May 7 at the arena.

“It’s very hard to knockout Phil Davis so I was getting ready for a five round fight and I knew I was going to go the distance,” said Nemkov. “Our conditioning was put on point.”

Nemkov generally dominated the first three rounds of the bout as he outpunched Davis and mostly dictated the pace of the fight. But Davis began to improve during the fourth round as he stopped a takedown attempt by Nemkov before getting on top of him, landed some decent punches and threw a high kick. Nemkov’s face bled during the fifth round as the standup continued and he attempted a takedown – Davis landed a knee to Nemkov’s midsection during the round and stopped another takedown attempt. All three judges scored the bout 48-47.

Corey Anderson (15-5) grounded and pounded his way to a TKO victory over Dovletdzhan Yaghimuradov (18-6-1) during the third round of another light heavyweight bout in the quarterfinals. Anderson will next fight Ryan Bader (28-6, with one no-contest) in the semi-finals. Bader defeated Lyoto Machida (26-11) at the arena last week, avenging a loss from about nine years ago.

Yaghimuradov landed an impressive spinning heel kick against Anderson during the first round, but Anderson generally outstruck him, getting a single leg takedown during the second round and launching a ground-and-pound attack that included lots of elbows. Anderson brought down Yaghimuradov early in the third round and fired a volley of elbows and punches. The referee waved the fight off at 2:15.

Veta Arteaga (6-4) earned an unanimous decision over Desiree Yanez (5-2) during a flyweight bout. One judge scored the fight 28-28 – the referee deducted a point during the second round after Arteaga threw two illegal knees in the clinch. Two judges scored it 29-27.

Arteaga appeared more aggressive during the first round as she worked angles during the standup. She took Yanez’s back near the end.

She knocked down Yanez during the second round and pounced on her before she ended up in her half guard. She later attempted a rear naked choke before she kneed Yanez in the face a few times. Although Yanez was standing, she also was supporting herself up with one hand, which prompted the referee stoppage.

Yanez clinched with Arteaga during the third round, changed levels and scored a double-leg takedown. But Arteaga pushed Yanez off with her legs and the returned to their feet. They continued to clinch and exchange shots as the fight ended.

The main card opened with a bout between Paul Daley (47-17-2) and Sabah Homasi (15-9). Bellator contracted the fight at 175 pounds.

Homasi started strong in the first round as he served a buffet of punches, kicks and knees to Daley before jumping into his guard and attempting to ground-and-pound him. But Daley stifled the attempt and got back on his feet – he landed a few knees to Homasi’s face before the round ended.

During the second round, Daley caught an attempted kick and dropped Homasi twice with punches – he used hammer fists with his first ground-and-pound attempt and more punches with his second before the referee waved the fight off at 1:44.

During the preliminary card, Karl Albrektsson (11-3) defeated Viktor Nemkov (30-8-1) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the light heavyweight bout 30-27.

Nemkov started the first round out well by putting Albrektsson in a guillotine. But Albrektsson lifted and dropped him before he slipped out of it and later attempted to attack from the top with punches and elbows. This setr the general pattern for the rest of the fight.

Lance Gibson Jr. (3-0) defeated Marcus Surin (6-2). By unanimous decision. Two judges scored the lightweight bout 30-27 and one scored it 29-28. Gibson generally dominated the first round but sustained an accidental eye poke while slipping a punch during the second, which prompted a referee stoppage. Surin managed to take Gibson’s back and attempted to ground and pound him during the third round.

Raymond Daniels (3-1, with one no-contest) defeated Peter Stanonik (4-4, with one no-contest) by unanimous decision. Two judges scored the welterweight bout 30-26 and one scored it 30-27. Daniels generally dominated he fight and threw lots of high kicks as well as a variety of other strikes. Stanonik reversed his position on the ground during the third round and attempted to ground and pound Daniels.

Grachik Bozinyan (11-4) defeated Demarques Jackson (11-5) by unanimous decision. Two judges scored the welterweight bout 29-28 and one scored it 30-27. Jacksom shot for a takedown in the first round but wound up o the bottom after some clinching. Bozinyan scored a takedown early in the second round after changing levels in the clinch and generally dominated the fight at that point. Jackson eventually took Bozinyan’s back during the third, but the latter reversed his position.

Steve Mowry (9-0) made quick work of fellow heavyweight Shaun Asher (13-4-1) with a TKO victory at :55 in the first round. Mowry landed a knee that dropped Asher and rained hammer fists on him as the referee stopped the fight.

Julius Auglickas (10-1) defeated Gregory Milliard (12-5) by unanimous decision. Two judges scored the light heavyweight bout 30-27 and one scored it 29-28. Auglickas secured a few takedowns during the fight.

Julia Budd (15-3) defeated fellow featherweight Dayana Silva (9-6) by split decision. All three judges scored it 29-29 with two favoring Budd. Budd secured take downs during the second and third rounds although Silva countered with a whizzer during the last round and returned to her feet.

Jay Jay Wilson (8-0) defeated Pedro Carvalho (11-5) by TKO due to strikes at :53 in the second round of a featherweight bout.

Mads Burnell (15-3) submitted Saul Rogers (14-4) with a rear naked choke at 4:08 in the second round of a featherweight bout.

(Editorial note: fighter records provided by spokespersons for Bellator).