Patricio Pitbull put his newly reclaimed featherweight championship on the line at Bellator 286 on Saturday, this time taking on young challenger Adam Borics of Hungary.
Many had expected Pitbull’s next title defense to be a trilogy fight with A.J. McKee. And McKee was in fact on the Bellator 286 card, which went down in his back yard of Long Beach, California. But it was not Patricio Freire McKee was facing, but rather former UFC and LFA fighter Spike Carlyle, in a long awaited move to 155lbs.
Pitbull vs. Borics. McKee vs. Carlyle. Not a bad one-two punch, but the Bellator 286 card had more to offer. In another big featherweight fight, Aaron Pico was paired up with UFC and PFL veteran Jeremy Kennedy. The fight hadn’t been officially announced as such, but it could certainly be seen as a title eliminator — especially in the case that Pico won.
Juan Archuleta and Enrique Barzola also faced off in a promising catchweight affair that would see the victor return to the win column.
Bellator 286 takes place Saturday, October 1, 2022 at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California. The preliminary card gets underway at 7PM ET, with the main card commencing at 10PM. Prelim action can be streamed above; where available, the main card is available to view below. Full results can also be found below.
Bellator 286: Pitbull vs. Borics Results
Main card
Patrício Pitbull (c) def. Ádám Borics by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 50-45) – for the Bellator MMA featherweight world championship
A. J. McKee def. Spike Carlyle by unanimous decision (29–26, 30–26, 30–27)
Jeremy Kennedy def. Aaron Pico by TKO (injury), Round 1, 5:00
Juan Archuleta def. Enrique Barzola by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary card
Bobby Seronio III def. Miguel Peimbert by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Islam Mamedov def. Nick Browne by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jay Jay Wilson def. Vladimir Tokov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Khalid Murtazaliev def. Khadzhimurat Bestaev by TKO, Round 2, 3:02
Sumiko Inaba def. Nadine Mandiau by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Weber Almeida def. Ryan Lilley by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Lance Gibson Jr. def. Dominic Clark by submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 1:49
Cee Jay Hamilton def. Richard Palencia by TKO (injury — broken leg), Round 2, 2:12
Mike Hamel vs. Max Rohskopf – Fight cancelled after Rohskopf not cleared to compete
Post-Liminary Card
Keoni Diggs def. Ricardo Seixas by unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)
