Bellator 144 took place on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and the event was headlined by Rafael Carvalho winning the vacant middleweight title with a TKO victory over Brandon Halsey.
The main card on Spike TV also featured stoppage victories by Brennan Ward, Goiti Yamauchi, and Michael Page.
TheMMAReport.com has put together post fight statistics from the fight card and are available below.
- Carvalho becomes the 4th middleweight champion in Bellator history (Hector Lombard, Alexander Shlemenko, and Halsey).
- He is now tied with multiple fighters for 5th most TKO/KO wins in Bellator middleweight division history.
- Brennan Ward defeated Dennis Olson by TKO in the first round and is now tied with Rick Hawn, Patricky Pitbull, Andrey Koreshkov, and Muhammed Lawal for the 4th most TKO/KO wins in Bellator history.
- Ward is now 3-0 since dropping down to welterweight and all of those wins have come by stoppage in the first round.
- Goiti Yamauchi submitted Isao Kobayashi in the third round and Yamauchi is now tied with Pat Curran, Alexandre “Popo” Bezerra, Marlon Sandro, and Daniel Straus for the most submission wins in Bellator featherweight division history.
- The lost marks the first time that Isao Kobayashi has been stopped in his career as his previous two defeats came by decision.
- Michael Page scored another first round victory as he stopped Charlie Ontiveros by TKO and he is now tied with Lyman Good for the 3rd most TKO/KO wins in Bellator welterweight division history.
- Marius Enache became the 4th fighter in Bellator history to win a fight by americana submission as he defeated Pete Rogers Jr. (Kenny Robertson, Cole Konrad, Ben Sauders).
The complete Bellator 144: Halsey vs. Carvalho results are below.
Main Card: (Spike TV)
Rafael Carvalho def. Brandon Halsey via TKO (liver kick) – Round 2, 1:42
Brennan Ward def. Dennis Olson via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:37
Goiti Yamauchi def. Isao Kobayashi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:50
Michael Page def. Charlie Ontiveros via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:20
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com)
Kemran Lachinov def. Ilya Kotau via submission (kneebar) – Round 2, 2:57
Damien Trites def. Keenan Raymond via submission (kimura) – Round 2, 1:17
Kin Moy def. Walter Smith-Cotito via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:53
Billy Giovanella def. Brandon Polcare via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:19
Matt Bessette def. Kevin Roddy via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 3:47
Kevin Haley def. Mike Zichelle via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Matt Secor def. Jeremie Holloway via submission (heel hook) – Round 2, 4:54
Marius Enache def. Pete Rogers via submission (americana) – Round 2, 2:37
Sam Watford def. T.J. Hepburn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)