Melvin Manhoef returned to form, while Rafael Carvalho had his light heavyweight debut go south at Bellator: Milan and Bellator 230 over the weekend.
Bellator MMA was in action in Milan, Italy on Saturday, with a card cleaved into three parts – Bellator Kickboxing 12, Bellator: Milan, and Bellator 230. The MMA portion, or portions, of the show saw a couple of key names in action: veteran striker Melvin Manhoef, and his former two-time foe Rafael Carvalho. Only this time, the pair were not facing one another.
Carvalho was making the move to light heavyweight for the first time, taking on Vadim Nemkov. It was a rude welcome to the weight class, as Nemkov submitted the former middleweight champ in the second round.
Manhoef, meanwhile, was in action against Yannick Bahati, and made short work of the much taller man. The first round finish came on the ground, thanks to some downright nasty GNP.
Full results and a gallery of highlights can be found below.
Bellator: Milan Results
Light Heavyweight: Alessio Sakara def. Canaan Grigsby by TKO (punches), Round 1, 0:23
Welterweight: Stefano Paterno def. Ashley Reece by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Light Heavyweight: Melvin Manhoef def. Yannick Bahati by TKO (punches), Round 1, 2:29
Lightweight: Rafael Macedo def. Kane Mousah by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Bellator 230 Results
Light Heavyweight: Vadim Nemkov def. Rafael Carvalho by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 3:56
Heavyweight: Dragos Zubco def. Hesdy Gerges by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Heavyweight: Kirill Sidelnikov def. Domingos Barros by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Welterweight: Walter Pugliesi def. Andrea Fusi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bellator: Milan Preliminary Card Results
Lightweight: Nicolo Solli def. Dan Cassell by submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 3:15
Bellator Kickboxing 12 Results
Gabriel Varga def. Cristian Faustino by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Chingiz Allazov def. Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Yuri Bessmertny def. Giuseppe de Domenico by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Luca Cecchetti def. Alex Avogadro by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 1, 2:09
Jade Jorand def. Silvia La Notte by KO, Round 2, 0:12
Shan Cangelosi def. Kevin Ross by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Endy Bonat vs. Kebrom Neguse ends in a majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 29-28)
Taras Hnatchuk def. Giacomo Licheri — by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Luca Memeli def. Pawel Szymanski by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
