Bellator 197 took place on Friday night at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri and was headlined by former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler scoring his seventh career submission victory with a arm-triangle choke victory in the opening round against Brandon Girtz.
In the co-main event of the fight card, AJ McKee remained undefeated in his career with the most notable victory of his career as he defeated Justin Lawrence by unanimous decision and after the fight was over, he made it clear that he’s looking for a fight against James Gallagher.
Also on the main card, Logan Storley scored a dominting decision victory over Joaquin Buckley and Kevin “Baby Slice” Ferguson Jr. won his third straight fight as he only needed 34-seconds to defeat Devon Brock.
TheMMAReport.com has put together post fight statistics from Friday’s fight card.
– Michael Chandler now has the most wins (15) and is tied for most fights (19) in Bellator history.
– Chandler moves into 7th place for most cage time (3:12:29) and is tied for most submission wins (6) in Bellator history.
– AJ McKee has the 2nd most wins (11) in Bellator featherweight division history.
– Kevin Ferguson Jr. submission victory in 34-seconds is the 9th fastest submission in Bellator history.
– Cort Wahle now owns the 3rd fastest submission win in Bellator history with his 21-second victory against Joe Roye.
– Jordan Dowdy submitted Jeff Crotty in 29-seconds and this is the fastest submission victory in Bellator welterweight division history.
The complete Bellator 197: Chandler vs. Girtz results are below.
Main Card: (Paramount Network)
Michael Chandler def. Brandon Girtz via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:00
A.J. McKee def. Justin Lawrence via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Logan Storley def. Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Kevin Ferguson Jr. def. Devon Brock via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, :34
Preliminary Card: (Bellator.com)
Juliana Velasquez def. Rebecca Ruth via TKO (body kick) Round 3 :19
Derek Anderson def. Zak Bucia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Dominic Mazzotta def. Josh Sampo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Eric Ellington def. Jordan Howard via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Adam Cella def. DeWayne Diggs via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:27
Cort Wahle def. Joe Roye via submission (guillotine) – Round 1, :21
Jordan Dowdy def. Jeff Crotty via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, :29
A.J. Siscoe def. Justin Robbins via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:34