The Bellator 108 fight card from the Revel Casino in Atlantic City kicked off with the preliminary card on Spike.com and featured Tom DeBlass, Nah-Shon Burrell and Liam McGeary with notable victories.
DeBlass faced Jason Lambert in a battle of former UFC fighters as DeBlass scored a knockout victory at the 1:45 mark of the opening round.
The entire fight would be on the feet and DeBlass was able to connect early with his strikes. He would drop Lambert with a right hand, but Lambert was able to recover and get back to his feet. However, Lambert would not be able to recover from the next significant strike of the bout as DeBlass connected with another right hand and the referee immediately came in to stop the fight.
DeBlass (9-2) has won back to back fights since coming out of retirement and signing with Bellator. Both of the wins have come by TKO/KO and six of his nine wins have come by stoppage.
Burrell wins Bellator debut by unanimous decision
Nah-Shon Burrell made his debut with Bellator and has now won three of his last four fights by decision as he defeated Jesus Martinez.
The opening round would be on the feet the entire time but Martinez did try to bait Burrell to the mat. He would not follow him to the mat and the fighters would exchange strikes throughout the round. In the final minute of the round, Martinez nearly scored a takedown, but Burrell was able to keep his balance and the fight moved into the second round.
They continued their striking bout in the second round with Burrell starting to be the aggressor. He would land a low kick to the groin of Martinez in the second minute of the round and the fight was paused. Martinez was able to continue and they clinched against the fence after Burrell threw a flying knee. While in the clinch, Burrell landed several shot strikes and opened up a cut on Martinez. As the round was coming to an end, Martinez landed a takedown and the fight moved into the final round.
As the third round opened, they continued their clinch fighting before being separated by the referee. After an exchange of strikes, Martinez closed the distance and grabbed the back of Burrell. However, Burrell would reverse the position and breakaway from him. Once again, they would clinch and Martinez got the fight to the ground with less than ten seconds left. He would not be able to get a finish and the fight went to the scorecards.
All three judges scored the fight for Burrell (10-3) and he has won back to back fights since being released by the UFC earlier this year.
McGeary remains undefeated with submission victory
One of Bellator’s top prospects is Liam McGeary and he remained undefeated on Friday night as he defeated Najim Wali by armbar submission in the first round.
The fight would quickly go to the ground and McGeary began to look for various submissions. He would use his long legs to secure a triangle choke from his back and started to throw short elbows while having the submission locked in. With Wali not tapping to the triangle choke, McGeary transitioned to an armbar submission and Wali would tap out to the hold.
McGeary (6-0) is now 3-0 in Bellator in 2013 and all of his wins inside the Bellator cage have come in the first round. In fact, four of his six wins have come in the first round and this is the third arm bar submission for him in his career.
Bellator 108 Preliminary Card Results:
Sam Oropeza def. Chip Moraza-Pollard via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :37
Tom DeBlass def. Jason Lambert via KO (punch) – Round 1, 1:45
Nah-Shon Burrell def. Jesus Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Anthony Morrison def. Kenny Foster via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 30-26)
Liam McGeary def. Najim Wali via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:31
Will Martinez def. Kevin Roddy via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:50
Dan Matala def. Ryan Cafaro via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:52
Rob Sullivan def. Sergio da Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)