Paul Daley’s run to a title fight hit a snag on Saturday, as he dropped a three round decision to former Champ Douglas Lima in the main event of Bellator 158 from London. The fight turned against Daley almost immediately, as he got dropped ten seconds in by a quick left from Lima; the bout slowed down from there, as Lima controlled Daley’s body for much of the round in the clinch. Daley got in some offense, Lima returned, and that’s how the round played out.
The second was a lot more action packed, with Daley trying to press forward while getting his leg busted up by kicks and losing more striking exchanges than he won. That included a brutal uppercut that hurt him late, though Lima then wound up getting him to the ground after stuffing a desperation takedown attempt. Daley wound up working back to his feet, but he got cracked again late and Lima landed strikes on the ground to give him another round.
Lima knew he was ahead in the third, and though he’d tired out a bit from his first two rounds of output he continued to control the action. Just as Daley thought he was getting some momentum on the feet, he wound up getting taken down, and Lima kept himself in the lead to take the clear decision on all three judges scorecards.
Matt Mitrione picked up his second Bellator win in just three weeks, stopping Oli Thompson late in the second round after a violent back and forth fight. The two heavyweights beat each other up in the first round, with Mitrione playing the aggressor but getting clipped by counter strikes that kept him a bit wary. That went away in the second round as Thompson’s energy faded, and Mitrione finally hurt him late with a big flurry and sent him to the ground, leading to the stoppage.
The highlight of the night came, unsurprisingly, from Michael “Venom” Page. Adding to his ever-growing list of standout victories, Page took out Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos with a flying knee to the face in the second round. It was a loud and brutal finish, with Page timing his jump perfectly as Santos tried to shoot in for a takedown. The 29-year-old has now stopped five of his six opponents in Bellator, including four straight, and this was just the second time he’s had a fight leave the first round.
Must See MVP TV tonight on @spike 9/8c#Bellator158 #PokemonGo @MichaelPage247https://t.co/VI5PYAgrhT
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) July 16, 2016
In other undercard action, Francis Carmont had little trouble with Lukasz Klinger, scoring a first round D’Arce choke for the submission win, while prospect James Gallagher defeated Mike Cutting by decision.
Penick’s Analysis: It’s a decent fight card, with a must-see finish from Page and highlights from UFC vets Mitrione and Carmont. It’s worth a spot on your DVR if you’re not going to catch the broadcast on Spike (Update: or if you happened to miss it live). The loss for Daley takes him out of the title picture, but makes the Koscheck fight easy to book, while Lima’s back in the mix and can try to win back that Welterweight Title from Andrey Koreshkov.
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