“This is the first time I really grappled in the cage, so I’m happy,” he told media outlets in attendance and online, speaking backstage at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The Dutch fighter won a split decision over Georges Sasu to open up the Bellator 270 main card.

“I’m getting more comfortable grappling. I’ve been investing a lot of time grappling in the gym, especially this last 18 months,” Bulaid (3-0) explained. “So I’m getting used to it more and more. I jumped from one of the best kickboxers, into professional MMA. So no amateur fights, and straight into Bellator. This is my third fight, third win. So I’m happy with that, but still there’s a lot of progress to gain.”

The former Enfusion world champion kickboxer added that while he was happy with his performance “I’ll be back in two or three months and improve again. I want to be there next month I think. So that’s what I’m going ask for.”

“I want to get some experience and then I’m going to f*ck all these top 15 fighters,” he added.

The only drawback from Friday’s performance was potentially a wonky scorecard from one dissenting judge. There were a few of those throughout the night in Dublin, though the outcome wasn’t impacted in Bulaid’s case.

“Yeah. I didn’t pay close attention to that but I heard one of the judges gave 29-28 to my opponent, and I was sure I won the first two rounds,” Bulaid told Cageside Press. “The third round because of the control time, he had it. But interesting scorecards, but still I didn’t have any doubt that I won this fight.”

Watch the full Bellator 270 post-fight press scrum with Ilias Bulaid above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post Bellator 270: Ilias Bulaid Targeting Top 15 Featherweights Soon appeared first on Cageside Press.

The preliminary card action was also available online, via the Bellator Youtube channel (embed above). Among the standouts on the card, former kickboxing champion Ilias Bulaid continued his MMA journey, looking to make it three in a row since transitioning to the sport in 2018. Lucie Bertaud, a combat sports veteran in multiple disciplines who once fought Germaine de Randamie in Muay Thai, would be fighting at home at the historic event. And former BAMMA welterweight and lightweight champion Terry Brazier was set to return against France’s own Yves Landu.

The Bellator Europe 10 prelims get underway at 1:45PM ET – check below for results. The official live stream is available above.

Bellator Europe 10 Preliminary Card Results

Yves Landu def. Terry Brazier by knockout (flying knee), Round 1, 2:18
Fabacary Diatta def. Dominique Wooding by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Lucie Bertaud def. Maguy Berchel by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-26)
Ciran Clarke def. Jean N’Doye by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Dylan Logan vs. William Gomis – scratched due to Gomis medical issue
Ilias Bulaid vs. Ivan Naccari – scratched due to COVID-19

The post Bellator Europe 10 Preliminary Card Live Stream and Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

ONE Championship | Friday | Singapore

Flyweight, Aleksi Toivonen (7-0)

His only loss in Aleksi Toivonen’s career is in the amateur scene against the well-established Jose Torres. Since going pro he has shown superior grappling and submission skills tapping six of his opponents. He doesn’t tend to stay on the feet too long but he has shown his ability to land a head kick in one of his fights.

Toivonen doesn’t waste any time before shooting in for the takedown or throwing his opponents to the mat showing solid wrestling. His ground game is top-level with excellent transitions, he has the ability to pass guard with ease, and the way he sets up his submissions is just amazing. And don’t forget his relentless ground and pound. He fights Reece McLaren (13-7) who is a tough test.

FAC 4 | Friday | US

Featherweight, David Onama (5-0)

Onama is a product out of Glory MMA and Fitness. He’s 5-0 as a pro and went 10-0 as an amateur. He throws good long straight punches and has some pop in his left hand. He’s an even better wrestler with solid ground and pound and jiu-jitsu. Onama is still green but has some good experience and is very well-rounded. He fights Justin Overton who is his toughest fight to date.

Bellator 248 | Saturday | France

Welterweight, Ross Houston (8-0, 1NC)

Houston is an excellent up-and-comer out of Scotland who is currently undefeated as a pro, and as an amateur, he was undefeated at 3-0. Houston is primarily a wrestler who does an excellent job at closing the distance to get his hands around his opponent and pull them to the mat. He doesn’t spend too much time on the feet but he does hit hard and he has good technique, though his head movement does need to improve. In some fights, when pushed, he does have problems with his cardio. He fights Bellator staple Michael Page (17-1) in an exciting clash of styles.

Featherweight, Ilias Bulaid (2-0)

Bulaid is only 2-0 in MMA but is also a Dutch-Moroccan featherweight kickboxer. Competing in kickboxing for quite some time he has a 25-6 record with many accolades to his name. Bulaid has looked good so far in his MMA career putting on two complete clinics. We have been able to see the arsenal of Bulaid. He’s lit up his opponents with strikes and kicks mixing it up perfectly. He rips awesome combinations from different angles mixing in kicks and punches. Bulaid has looked stellar on the feet with his fluidity of output. He fights Ivan Naccari (0-1).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENQEOx9iqIA&ab_channel=FIGHTsportTV

KSW 55 | Saturday | Poland

Middleweight, Andreas Gustafsson Berg (5-0)

Gustafsson is an absolute beast who rather resembles UFC fighter Mark O. Madsen. “Bane” is a powerhouse wrestler who enjoys the big body lock takedowns. His wrestling is spectacular and that includes his entrances, setups, raw power, and his excellent chain wrestling. The man is a huge problem on the mat as his ground and pound is constantly pouring down no matter what position he’s in. Gustafsson is all over his foes from start to finish always moving on the mat and always landing something. He needs to conserve his cardio better and needs to improve his striking moving forward. He fights a very dangerous Damian Janikowski (4-3).

Eternal MMA 53 | Saturday | Australia

Welterweight, Jack Della Maddalena (8-2)

After starting off his career losing his first two fights, Jack Della Maddalena is now on a seven-fight win streak. He is also the defending Eternal MMA welterweight champion. On the feet, he hits hard with both his hands and kicks. He’s very technical as well mixing in kicks and punches into combos. Della is solid at attacking the body, going there often, and effectively using his elbows. He’s probably a better wrestler who has finished both with ground and pound, and submissions. Della does need to work on his takedown defense, but thus far his exceptional jiu-jitsu has done well for him. He fights Aldin Bates (6-2) who he lost to in the past, and is now looking to get revenge on.

The post Weekly MMA Prospect Report: Ross Houston Leads the Pack appeared first on Cageside Press.

Flyweight, Jasmine Jasudavicius (4-0) 

Jasmine Jasudavicius’ opponent Gabriella Gulfin was significantly smaller but the aggressor. It was easy for Jasudavicius to get the Thai clinch and bully Gulfin. Jasudavicius landed many knees to the body and excellent elbows to the head. Jasudavicius hurt Gulfin with an elbow off the break and landed a few good right hands. All the punishment forced Gulfin to shoot for a lazy takedown as Jasudavicius defended and landed knees to the body sending the ref in.
Grade: A

Bantamweight, Herbeth Sousa (15-1)

Herbeth Sousa fought Alexander Keshtov in February, which was a battle between two top prospects in the division. The fight, however, wasn’t even close as Sousa dominated all four rounds. Sousa secured five takedowns showing good chain wrestling in the process. Sousa gave Keshtov no room as he was all over him in the grappling department. It wasn’t a flashy performance but a very dominant one.
Grade: B

Middleweight, Kyle Daukaus (9-0)

It was all Kyle Daukaus in this fight en-route to a second-round finish. Daukaus made this a grappling match showcasing his skills. He went for countless submissions such as the d’arce, arm-triangle, guillotine, and the RNC. His long arms led to a huge advantage on the mat. Daukaus was winning every grappling exchange and won every scramble. In the second round, he finally put his opponent away with the d’arce choke.
Grade: B

Welterweight, Iuri Lapicus (14-0)

Iuri Lapicus had his biggest challenge to date going against Marat Gafurov, the former ONE Featherweight Champion. Lapicus started off the fight landing very hard outside leg kicks forcing Gafurov to tie up. Lapicus hit a beautiful judo throw then scrambled to the back to finish with the RNC. Beautiful finishing sequence.
Grade: A+

Flyweight, Erin Blanchfield (5-1)

Erin Blanchfield fought Victoria Leonardo last month, who is a good prospect and someone we’ve featured here before. Coming in this was a grappler in Erin fighting a striker in Leonardo. Blanchfield couldn’t really get the takedown but she didn’t really need it. In the first, Blanchfield dropped Leonardo with a brutal head kick. Somehow Leonardo survived and made it to the second round. Erin threw that head kick over and over until she once again landed it flush this time sending the ref in. Leonardo is a super tough girl and a grappler just took her out with a head kick.
Grade: B+

Lightweight, Kenny Cross (10-3)

Kenny Cross has quietly flown under the radar with four consecutive wins now, and a 100% finish rate. In this fight, he beat a good fighter in Robert Hale handing him his first TKO loss in his career. Light on his feet, Cross landed a straight left down the pipe buckling the knees of Hale. Cross capitalized with a left hook putting Hale down and the extra punches resulted in the TKO.
Grade: B-

Heavyweight, Cody Brundage (5-0)

Cody Brundage beat Erick Lozano last December via decision. The outcome wasn’t good enough so they rematched and this time Brundage got the early stoppage. Brundage quickly closed the distance and got the fight to the mat. He transitioned into the mount and would lock in the arm-triangle for the tap.
Grade: B-

Lightweight, Gadzhi Rabadanov (14-3)

Gadzhi Rabadanov usually dominates opponents with his wrestling. In this fight though, he excelled on the feet. Rabadanov scored four knockdowns throughout three rounds. He dropped his opponent with two short left hands and a short right hand. In round three, he landed a huge overhand right dropping his foe, but he was really tough. Rabadanov did well in burst and picked his shots well.
Grade: B-

Lightweight, Usman Nurmagomedov (9-0)

Khabib Nurmagomedov has a lot of relatives in the sport and Usman (cousin) has quietly grown into a good prospect. Usman displayed a heavy kickboxing attack throwing at range plus front kicks and roundhouse kicks. While looking good from the outside, Usman landed  key knees in the clinch and some good elbows getting the TKO stoppage.
Grade: C+

Featherweight, Ľudovít Klein (16-2)

L’udovit Klein continues to build his resume with seven straight wins now. In this bout he was able to take out a former UFC fighter in Łukasz Sajewski. The Polish Sajewski was heavy for the takedown at the bell. While Klien did show some solid takedown defense he was eventually taken down. Klein worked his way back to his feet and landed a barrage of punches and kicks. Klein would drop Sajewski with a head kick sending the ref in for the stoppage.
Grade: B-

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