Bellator 122 took place on Friday night at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California and was headlined by Andrey Koreshkov winning the season ten welterweight tournament with a decision victory over Adam McDonough.
As the fight opened, Koreshkov was able to take control of the cage and McDonough ended up shooting for a takedown. The attempt would be unsuccessful and they would continue to strikes with each other.
Koreshkov would continue to be the aggressor in the opening round as he landed 21 strikes, compared to the 10 of McDonough. The fight would move into the second round and McDonough would open up the round with a failed takedown attempt.
Koreshkov maintained control of the cage and landed a spinning back kick that put McDonough on the mat. He would survive the strike and get the fight back to the center of the cage. Koreshkov would land a series of punches in the final minute of the round and the fight moved into the final round.
The striking battle would continue for the first ninety seconds of the round before McDonough went for a takedown. Once again, the takedown would be unsuccessful and Koreshkov briefly looked for a guillotine on the ground. They would return to the feet and once again, McDonough looked for a takedown. Koreshkov would stop the attempt and he would end up in top position on the ground. After a lack of action, referee John McCarthy would stand the fighter up with thirty seconds left and the judges would decide the winner.
All three judges would score the fight for Koreshkov (17-1) and he joins Paticio Pitbull, Douglas Lima, Alexander Shlemenko, and Alexander Volkov has two-time tournament winners in same weight class.
Halsey remains undefeated, wins middleweight tournament
The co-main event of the fight card was the final of the season ten middleweight tournament as Brandon Halsey submitted Brett Cooper in the first round by armbar.
It would only take thirty seconds for Halsey to get the fight to the ground and he would end up going for an armbar submission. Cooper would be able to defend it at first, but Halsey continued to work for it and Cooper would end up tapping out to the submission.
Halsey (7-0) now secures his title shot against current Bellator champion Alexander Shlemenko and this is his third career win by submission.
McGeary with another first round victory
Just like his previous four Bellator fights, Liam McGeary scored a first round victory as he defeated Egidijus Valavicius by TKO in the first round.
Early in the fight, Valavicius landed a significant right hand and McGeary immediately looked to clinch. They would end up separating and McGeary began to tae the fight over. He would land multiple strikes near the fence and after several unanswered strikes, the referee came in to stop the fight.
McGeary (8-0) is now tied with Attila Vegh for the second most wins in Bellator light heavyweight division and now owns the record for the most TKO/KO wins in the division.
Parisyan wins second straight fight by knockout
The opening fight of the main card was a welterweight bout as Karo Parisyan scored his second straight victory by knockout as he defeated Phil Baroni in the first round.
The entire fight would be on the feet and Parisyan would land a right hand that would drop Baroni to one knee and he would begin to land punches on the ground. After a series of punches, referee John McCarthy saw enough and called the fight.
Parisyan (24-10, 1NC) has now won four of his last five fights and has won back to back fights in Bellator. Baroni (15-18) drops his third straight fight and has been defeated in five of his last six fights.
Anundson advances to the finals after Lins suffers knee injury
The first light heavyweight tournament semifinal bout took place on the preliminary card as Kelly Anundson advanced to the final after Philipe Lins suffered a left knee injury.
Anundson was able to get the fight to the ground early, but Lins would be able to work back to his feet. During a striking exchange, Lins would attempt to throw a power right hand and his left knee gave out on him.
Referee John McCarthy witnessed the injury immediately and came in to stop the fight at the 1:40 mark of the opening round. Anundson (9-2) has now won six fights in a row and he will face McGeary in the tournament final.
The complete Bellator 122 results are below.
Main Card: (Spike TV)
Andrey Koreshkov def. Adam McDonough via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brandon Halsey def. Brett Cooper via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:09
Liam McGeary def. Egidijus Valavicius via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:10
Karo Parisyan def. Phil Baroni via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:06
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
Linton Vassell def. Virgil Zwicker by submission (rear naked choke) – Round 1, 1:07
Augusto Sakai def. Matt Frembling via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:32
Bubba Jenkins def. Poppies Martinez via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:10
Kelly Anundson def. Philipe Lins via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 1:40
Fernando Gonzalez def. Karl Amoussou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Saad Awad def. Joe Duarte via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:18
Sergio Rios def. Stephen Martinez via KO (strikes) – Round 2, :20