Bellator 254 Review

Still Perfect

Romero Cotton vs. Justin Sumter

Middleweight Fight

This one didn’t make it out of the first round.  Cotton seemed to have a plan for the entire fight and a lot of options on how to finish.  Cotton worked Sumter up against the cage and waited for him to try to escape to look for an opening.  That opened up a choke for Cotton, who promptly sunk it in and made Sumter tap.  Romero Cotton stays perfect in his MMA career, look for this name in the future.

Rating: 8/10

Result: 1st Round Submission (Rear Naked Choke) for Romero Cotton

Grinding from King’s Mill

Linton Vassell vs. Ronny Markes

Heavyweight Fight

Linton Vassell never lost control, he had ground control for what seemed like the entire fight.  Vassell kept trying to finish the fight, either by submission or a ref stoppage, it came to fruition in the 2nd round after he got full mount on Markes.  Markes never really went out, it just got to a point where he was simply covering up and not fighting back.  Vassell had another great showing as he’s trying to work his way up the heavyweight division again.  Vassell might be closer to a shot at the big one than we think.

Rating: 7.5/10

Result: 2nd Round TKO by Linton Vassell

From Dagestan with Love

Magomed Magomedov vs. Matheus Mattos

Bantamweight Fight

Magomedov is continuing to prove why more and more great fighters are coming from this particular corner of Russia.  He spent the entire 2nd round on Mattos’ back trying to work positioning and a potential position.  This was a situation where Magomedov would have liked to get a finish, but everything fell into place for him so nicely that he didn’t have to.  This was an amazing performance for Magomedov.

Rating: 7/10

Result: Unanimous Decision for Magomed Magomedov

Main Event

And New!

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Juliana Velasquez
Women’s Flyweight Championship

This fight was a battle of wills, and it seemed that Velasquez had the edge for the most of the time.  Macfarlane seemed to run out of gas at a certain point and focused on clinches quite a bit.  Despite the numbers being pretty even and Macfarlane actually scoring more takedowns than her opponent, octagon control was undoubtedly in favor of Velasquez.  Macfarlane just didn’t look ready for this one, and it showed.  We have a new Bellator MMA Women’s Flyweight Champion.

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