Capping off the night at Bellator 283, which saw the promotion debut in Tacoma, Washington, was a welterweight showdown between ex-champ Douglas Lima and top contender Jason Jackson.
Having missed weight on Thursday, Lima had raised eyebrows; just how rough was his weight cut, and would it impact his performance?
Early on, Lima worked from the outside, firing kicks that had an immediate impact on Jackson. More than once, Jackson was taken out of position, and nearly off his feet by the attack. Jackson then closed the distance with a flurry, and moments later shot for a takeodwn, landing it. Positioning Lima away from the fence, he went to work in Lima’s guard. Throwing strikes off his back, try as he might, Lima could not escape. Jackson would ride out the round on top, in control.
Round two saw Lima carrying Jason Jackson’s weight again, this time up along the fence. Jackson fired knees to the thighs then finally wrenched him up and slammed him down. This time Jackson was in half-guard; with butterfly hooks, Lima managed to reclaim guard. Moments later, he’d fire an upkick, and attack with punches from bottom. Jackson managed to survive the kick, and got back on top, settling in. In the final minute, he’d posture up and fire some hammerfists.
In the third, the pair battled for position by the fence, with Jackson adding some stomps. This time, when they went to the ground, it was Lima on top. Jackson shrimped back to the fence, and they were back up, with Jackson almost immediately reversing. He soon had a takedown of his own, and once again rode out the round inside Lima’s guard.
Outside of Lima’s early success with leg kicks, he’d shown little in the way of offense in the fight — and was quickly falling behind. Round four was more of the same however. An early takedown was landed by Jackson, who spent pretty much the entire round in control. Lima simply could not get out from under him, and didn’t seem to have much in the way of opportunities from the bottom, submission-wise. By the end of the round, the boo-birds were in full flight.
Lima, slow to get up at the end of the round, was checked on by the doctor prior to the start of the fifth. He was good to continue — but was in need of a finish. Not necessarily just for a win, but to salvage any hope of a fourth title run. Instead, Jackson immediately shot in and took Lima down. Lima landed with his back to the fence, but Jackson positioned him with ease, maneuvering his opponent almost at will. The writing had already been on the wall — now it was just a matter of running out the clock. Lima has no answer, and Jason Jackson walked away with a clear decision, albeit one that will not be popular with fans thanks to the wrestling-heavy approach.
The win drops Lima to 0-4 in his last four fights, while Jackson is now on a six-fight streak.
Official Result: Jason Jackson def. Douglas Lima by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
