Peter Queally and Ryan Scope opened the Bellator: Dublin card with a thrilling, back-and-forth fight that saw both men earning chances to finish.
A lightweight scrap between Ryan Scope and Peter Queally opened the Bellator: Dublin card Friday at the 3Arena. Queally was coming off a loss in his Bellator debut, while Scope had also dropped his first bout in the promotion, notably to Patricky Pitbull. While the bout might have flown under the radar given names like MVP and Gallagher were on the card, it did not disappoint.
Scope opened with a leg kick but Queally rushed forward and looked for the clinch. Scope spun the position around, and pressed Queally into the fance. Queally was quick to spin free and return to center. He again rushed forward with a combination, but Scope changed levels and got the clinch, where they worked for a moment before breaking again. Queally continued to press the action and landed a right hand that looked to have hurt Scope for a moment. Sensing an opportunity, Queally again moved in but Scope fired out a right of his own that stopped his attack.
Queally pressed forward with a combination but slipped on the way; he recovered to his feet quickly. Another combination landed on the way in for Queally, before he began pressing Scope into the cage. They broke quickly and engaged again until Queally threw a front kick that was caught by Scope. Another clinch was short-lived. Queally found the mark with a 1-2 combination and continued to press the action on Scope as the bell rang to end the round.
Scope opened the second with a push kick follow by another kick that found the mark and knocked Queally down. Tide turning, Scope was quick to pounce on the downed Queally and rained down punches before transitioning for the choke. Queally fought it off but Scope stayed on him and continued to fire off punches. Scope got to mount and looked to land more punches and elbows on a bloodied Queally, but Queally continued to work and defend. He got Scope back into his full guard and then swept Scope to take top position before scrambling back to his feet. On the feet Queally unloaded on a tired looking Scope, badly hurting him before putting him down to the canvas. Queally kept the pressure on and unloaded a flurry on his downed opponent that forced the ref to step in and stop the fight.
Peter Queally def. Ryan Scope by TKO, Round 2, 3:07
