Bellator 249 on Thursday, the promotion’s first show back from a multi-week stint in Europe, had a little bit of everything. From the inspired, to the weird, to the downright wince-inducing.
When it comes to weird, nothing was stranger than the card opener. Kastriot Xhema dominated Albert Gonzales for two rounds, and had his opponent trapped in a downright vicious arm-bar at the end of the second. Gonzales’ elbow clearly dislocated, and the belief was that the bout would be stopped between rounds.
It was, but not because a doctor ruled Gonzales ineligible to continue. He probably would have been forced to call it a night, but Xhema informed officials that he could not continue. An exhausted Xhema lost a fight he otherwise would have won as a result, due to fighter retirement.
The wince-inducing, aside from that arm-bar, came from an errant knee by Mandel Nallo on Saad Awad in their lightweight bout. Awad immediately hit the canvas, prone. By the time the fight was over, he still hadn’t made it back up. Five minutes ticked away by the point Awad, clearly in pain, made it to his knees.
Thanks to a bout of labyrinthitis, the co-headliner of Patricky Pitbull vs. Jaleel Willis was scratched last minute. In the main event, meanwhile, Cris Cyborg earned her first career submission win when he locked on a rear-naked choke, forcing opponent Arlene Blencowe to tape in the second.
Full results and highlights from Bellator 249 can be found below.
Bellator 249: Cyborg vs. Blencowe Results
Main Card
Cris “Cyborg” def. Arlene Blencowe via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 2:46
Leandro Higo def. Ricky Bandejas via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 2, 2:32
Steve Mowry def. Shawn Teed via TKO, Round 1, 4:22
Saad Awad and Mandel Nallo ended in a no contest
Preliminary Card:
Andrew Kapel defeated Joseph Creer via TKO (doctor’s stoppage – cut), Round 2, 5:00
Kemran Lachinov defeated Kyle Crutchmer via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Christian Edwards defeated Hamza Salim via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:38
Da’mon Blackshear defeated Mike Kimbel via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 4:14
Aviv Gozali defeated Logan Neal via submission (kimura), Round 1, 3:22
Albert Gonzales defeated Kastriot Xhema via TKO (fighter retirement), Round 2, 5:00
