A new champion has arrived
(Uncasville, CT., November 5, 2016) – On a night where long time Long Island MMA veteran Tom English made his Bellator debut on the Bellator 163 card, it was the main card that shined in what was a thrilling action-packed night of fights.
English, (6-7) lost via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) to Chris Foster (10-5) in a featherweight bout that took place at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night.
On the main card, the first three fights were bouts that showed, that if you blinked, you might miss history.
Such as the first fight when heavy underdog, Javy Ayala, achieved an enormous walk-off knockout over veteran heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov. After a brief exchange, Ayala (10-5) landed a massive right hand that sent Kharitonov straight back to the mat. Ayala didn't need to throw anything else as he earned the KO in unbelievable fashion.
The knockout came at just 16 seconds into the first round and is definitely up there for knockout of the year.
In the second fight, Neiman Gracie (5-0) and son of world-class MMA fighter, Royce Gracie, defeated Rudy Bears via submission (armbar) at the 4:39 mark of round 1.
For the first few minutes of the opening round, both fighters were feeling each other out with timid kickboxing before Gracie scored a takedown. He originally went for the rear-naked-choke with a body triangle but Bears escaped. While Gracie still had Bears’ back, he smoothly transitioned to the arm bar and Bears had to tap. Gracie, like his father, wears that last name proud.
In the co-main event, two powerful and exciting fighters matched up as Brennan Ward and Saad Awad battled in a welterweight clash. Again, blinking could have cost you the fight as these two fighters from the outset, went at it. In an wild exchange, Ward’s power drilled Awad to the fence where a nasty left hook ended the fight via KO just 86 seconds into the fight.
The main event was for all the marbles as light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary looked to defend his title against number one contender and former UFC fighter, Phil Davis.
Davis, known for his incredible wrestling skills, was just too much, as he absolutely dominated the entire five-round fight. Davis scored multiple takedowns and had top control for the majority of the fight with suffocating ground control. As it went to the judges, there was not too much to ponder about this one, as Davis won via unanimous decision and a dominant one at that ( 50-43, 50-45, 50-44) winning the belt to become the new Bellator light heavyweight champion.
While English didn’t get to bring home the win for Long Island, fans were still treated to an incredible night of fights, and a card that will be remembered for a very long time.
MMA Long Island Magazine is published by MMA New York Media Corporation. For more information please visit www.mmalongislandmagazine.com or call (516) 318-2418.
Photo credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog
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