Bellator MMA has a new No. 1 contender at women’s featherweight.
Fan-favorite Leah McCourt took on the undefeated Sara Collins in the Bellator London main event. “The Curse” came out looking to use her jab, but Collins (6-0) was able to strike first. The Australian put down McCourt (8-4) with a well-timed right hook. McCourt would survive some ground-and-pound, but Collins took her back and sunk in a rear-naked choke to get a submission win.
The tap came just 2:25 into the first round and has lined up a potential fight against “Cyborg” Cristiane Justino.
Powell Edges Xavier
The light heavyweight co-main event saw Simeon Powell get back into the win column following his first career defeat.
Powell (10-1) came out aggressive on the feet, but it was Rafael Xavier that was able to score a flash knockdown after landing a perfectly-placed front kick. More adversity would happen at the bell, as a left hook from Xavier (13-8) floored the London native. Powell would come out composed to start the second round and found success on the feet as the much fresher fighter. Xavier would rebound in the final five minutes, though, as the last round was a back-and-forth affair that was tough to score.
The judges arrived at an understandable split decision, with Powell getting two of the three 29-28 scorecards.
Related » Bellator London Round-by-Round Scoring
Trainer RNCs Urbonavicius
Bellator’s light heavyweight division was put on notice following Luke Trainer‘s dominant win over Laurynas Urbonavicius.
Trainer (9-1) grappled early on with “Captain Lithuania” before knocking down his opponent with a well-timed left hook. “The Gent” was able to then take the back of Urbonavicius (14-2). The 28-year-old British fighter was able to eventually sink in a rear-naked choke for a submission win.
The tap officially came at 4:15 of Round 1.
Diakiese Outwrestles Wilde
The main card opened up with a lightweight fight between two veterans, Marc Diakiese and Tim Wilde.
Both men came out looking to strike, but Diakiese (18-7) showcased his diverse game by taking down Wilde (17-6-1) later in the first round and getting to mount position. Having an advantage in wrestling, “Bonecrusher” would go back to grappling as the fight went on and controlled the second frame. Wilde would finally find success in the final round, landing some hard punches as Diakiese tired, but it wound up being too little, too late.
After 15 minutes of action, Diakiese took a unanimous decision win with three 29-28 scorecards in his favor.
Bellator London Prelim Results:
In preliminary action, Archie Colgan (11-0) stayed undefeated by outworking Manoel Sousa (11-1) over three rounds to take a unanimous decision win (30-27, 29-28, 29-28); Mike Shipman (17-4) wrecked Eslam Abdul Baset Syaha (16-3) with a well-timed knee and punches to pick up a TKO win at 2:32 of the second round; Joseph Luciano (9-2) submitted Steven Hill (7-2) with an anaconda choke at 1:22 of Round 2; Ciaran Clarke (10-0) stayed undefeated in a 140-pound catchweight fight against Tuomas Gronvall (12-8-1) by earning a unanimous decision with scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27; and Darragh Kelly (7-0) outgrappled fellow lightweight Dmytrii Hrytsenko (9-1) to a unanimous decision win with three 30-26 scorecards after a point was deducted for several low blows.
