For Yorgan De Castro, CES 65 marked his first fight back following his release from the UFC earlier this year. The heavyweight competed for CES prior to his Contender Series and Ultimate Fighting Championship run, the latter of which saw him post a 1-3 record.

Looking to regroup and work his way back to the big show, De Castro was taking on Danyelle Williams, who after a brief stint in boxing was returning to MMA for the first time since 2017.

The story surrounding Andre Harrison’s return to the cage in the co-main event was a wild one. The former PFL champ had not competed in two years not because of injury or illness, but simply because the major promotions wouldn’t sign him off a loss, and no one on the regional scene seemed to want to fight him.

Brazilian LFA veteran Mauro Chaulet had signed on, however, ending Harrison’s lengthy inactive stretch.

Full results from Sunday’s CES 65 card can be found below. The event takes place Sunday, November 7 at the Providence Career and Technical Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. It all goes down live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 4PM ET.

CES 65: De Castro vs. Williams Results

Main Card

Yorgan De Castro def. Danyelle Williams by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-27)
Andre Harrison def. Mauro Chaulet by TKO (5:00), Round 1, 5:00
Ashiek Ajim def. Carlos Espinosa by knockout, Round 1, 0:26
John Douma def. Tristan Lindi by submission (d’arce choke), Round 1, 2:24
Hugh McKenna def. Pat McCrohan by TKO, Round 1, 4:33
Nathan Ghareeb def. Tom Pagliarulo by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Tim Flores def. Matt Almy by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Post-Liminary Card

Rakim Thorpe def. Aaron Hughes by decision
Tyrime Da Silva def. Josh Hardy by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 0:41

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“It wasn’t what I wanted, but I was able to squeeze it out. I’ll take it,” Douma stated, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. When it went to the scorecards, “I didn’t have a good feeling, I’ll tell you that much. Some mistakes to work on . On the feet I was trying to get him down, it was weird, he was hard to get a read on. He did a lot of weird stuff I’m not used to seeing.”

Douma has competed under the Bellator MMA banner before, and this was another one fight deal for the prospect. Douma admitted that he had wanted to showcase more in Friday’s fight, in hopes of signing a multi-fight deal with the promotion.

“I was really hoping to get some highlight here or something,” Douma told the media. “I’ll take the win, hopefully they [Bellator] want me. I’m more than happy to stick around.”

The Rhode Island native also touched on his boxing coach, Greg Rebello, a legend of sorts in the New England area. “Greg. It’s a blessing and a curse. You’re never safe with Greg. But for sure, he’s a fun guy to have around. He talks the talk and walks the walk. He knows what he’s talking about. He’s going to bust your balls the entire training session, but you’re going to get a lot better with him.”

Watch the full Bellator 256 post-fight press scrum with John Douma above.

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That fight will see John Douma (4-2) take on Will Smith (3-1) in preliminary card action. Both fighters are coming off single losses under the Bellator MMA banner.

Douma, fighting out of Tri-Force MMA in Rhode Island, is 1-1 inside the Bellator cage to date. The 24-year old pulled off the upset of fellow prospect Mike Kimbel at Bellator 215 in September 2019. In his return bout, he came up short against Jornel Lugo.

Prior to joining his current fighting home, Douma had competed exclusively for CES MMA as a pro.

Smith, meanwhile, is 0-1 in the promotion. He had a two-fight win streak snapped in his debut with the organization last year, losing via TKO to Lucas Brennan. Like Douma, Smith has previously competed for CES MMA.

Bellator 256 is set to take place Friday, April 9, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The card will be the promotion’s second on its new U.S. broadcast home Showtime. Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida, a quarterfinal fight in the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, headlines.

The full card currently looks as follows:

Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida
Corey Anderson vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
Julia Budd vs. Dayana Silva
Jeremy Kennedy vs. Ádám Borics
Liz Carmouche vs. Vanessa Porto
Cody Law vs. Nathan Ghareeb
Cat Zingano vs. Olivia Parker
Talita Nogueira vs. Jessica Borga
Diana Avsaragova vs. Tara Graff
Cass Bell vs. Jornel Lugo
Nainoa Dung vs. Izzy William
Dalton Rosta vs. Tony Johnson
Jaylon Bates vs. Jeffrey Glossner
John Douma vs. Will Smith

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The welterweight grand prix wrapped up Saturday night at Bellator 232, and the finale was a fitting one. Pitting former champ Douglas Lima against the man who defeated him for the title, Rory MacDonald, the main event fight would settle, at the very least, who the best welterweight in Bellator was.

Also on the card, the return to New England’s own Nick Newell, who earned himself a contract with the promotion last time out. Newell has been on the radar since his WSOF days, but got main card treatment Saturday.

On the preliminary card at Bellator 232, meanwhile, former UFC lightweight Devin Powell made his promotional debut, taking on Marcus Surin. John Douma, who shocked with a win over top prospect Mike Kimbel earlier this year, also returned to action, opposite Jornel Lugo.

Preliminary card action kicks off at 6:45PM ET! Check back come fight time for full results. The Bellator 232 live stream of all the prelim action can be found below.

Bellator 232: MacDonald vs. Lima 2 – Live tonight on DAZN

Bellator 232: MacDonald vs. Lima 2 Preliminary Card Results

Welterweight: Ryan Evans def. Demetrios Plaza by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 3:03
Lightweight: Lance Gibson def. Dominic Jones by TKO, Round 1, 1:58
Lightweight: Devin Powell  def. Marcus Surin by technical submission (mounted guillotine), Round 2, 5:00
Flyweight: John Lopez def. Dan Cormier by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Jornel Lugo def. John Douma by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Flyweight: Zarrukh Adashev def. Tevin Dyce by TKO, Round 2, 1:39

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In a fight designed to put the spotlight on a prospect coming off a big win, Michael Kimbel faced off against John Douma early on the Bellator 215 main card. At just 21 years old Kimbel had been explosive so far in his career — with two first round finishes, the second coming in just six seconds at Bellator 207. Douma, meanwhile, a CES alum, was also young in his career, but making his Bellator debut off his first loss as a pro.

Despite a booking that seemed to put the spotlight on one fight, the story did not go according to plan in the end.

Kimbel went right after the finish with a high kick that missed, which put the fight past six seconds, but certainly announced his intent. A leg kick followed, and Kimbel was clearly on the hunt, Douma backpedaling out of harm’s way at times. A spinning kick from Kimbel missed as Douma ducked under, then initiated the clinch. It was Kimbel getting the fight down, however, landing in his opponent’s guard. Up quick, but with Kimbel in control and taking it right back to the canvass. Douma looked for a triangle, or arm-bar, only to be slammed down by Kimbel.

😲💪@JohnDouma145 is your winner at #Bellator215 via triangle!

Watch the main card LIVE now on @ParamountNet and simulcast on @DAZN_USA. pic.twitter.com/Osvhnn6Izp

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 16, 2019

Yet Douma did not let go of the submission attempt, despite essentially being dropped on his head. Kimbel landed some shots to the head, still trapped, but moments later, was tapping for the first loss of his career.

John Douma def. Mike Kimbel by submission (triangle), Round 1, 2:51

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