The promotion’s lightweight title picture being what it is, the Bellator 261 main card bout between Myles Jury and Sidney Outlaw had the potential to have title implications.
Nothing was set in stone. But Jury, ranked fourth, was the only fighter coming off a win in the top five outside of Peter Queally, ranked just behind him in the number five spot. A Jury win, in fact, would give the former UFC star three straight — but with Patricio Pitbull still tied up in the featherweight grand prix, when the title might be defended, and against who, was anyone’s guess.
If the storyline called for an exciting Jury win on Friday, however, no one gave Sidney Outlaw the memo. When the fight went to the ground — relatively early, with the lightweight duo relatively dry — Outlaw was on the back. For a good long while. With both hooks in, Outlaw managed to control Jury while working on submissions. Doing just enough, at times, to stop the fight from being stood up. Once the body triangle was locked in near the end of the round, the question of a potential 10-8 arose.
Jury, meanwhile, looked exhausted. So it was no surprise to see Outlaw go back to the well in the opening minute of round two. Jury managed to fend off the takedown, up to a point. But again, Outlaw got him down, dragging him right down on top, with Outlaw in back control. Hooks were in instantly, and it was deja vu all over again for Myles Jury.
It was rinse and repeat again in round three for Jury, who had no answer to the ground game of Outlaw. Unable to scramble out, unable to turn and get on top, Jury spent the fight wearing Outlaw like a seat belt. Jury’s biggest moment, staggering to his feet and running into a slam, didn’t even knock Outlaw out, let alone off. A second attempt fared no better. And with time winding down, Outlaw managed to sink in a rear-naked choke, earning the finish with just over ten seconds remaining.
The win by Outlaw further muddies the waters at lightweight. In terms of the title picture, Outlaw and Peter Queally are now the highest ranked fighters at 155lbs coming off wins. Outlaw sits at sixth, but come next week, may find himself bumped up a spot or two.
Official Result: Sidney Outlaw def. Myles Jury by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 4:44
