Bellator 144 was going pretty much according to plan from the beginning of the main card up until round 1 of the main event between Rafael Carvalho and Brandon Halsey. If you recall, Halsey lost his middleweight title because he failed to make weight against Kendall Grove, so he got the chance to win it back against the Brazilian. Halsey, who came into the fight undefeated at 9-0, dominated round 1 and nearly finished Carvalho with an arm-triangle choke, but Carvalho managed to escape.
Then came round 2, and out of nowhere Carvalho landed a body kick that had Halsey reeling. Down he went on a delayed reaction, and Carvalho finished him with punches as he reeled in pain while turning to the side. Rafael Carvalho ends Halsey’s unbeaten streak and wins the title. Halsey was at least a -1000 favorite across all major sports betting sites, making this one of the upsets of the year.
Rafael Carvalho def. Brandon Halsey via second-round TKO (1:42) to become the new Bellator middleweight champion
Brennan Ward def. Dennis Olson via first-round TKO (4:37)
Welterweight Brennan Ward was a humongous favorite to beat Dennis Olson, and a walloping right hand by Ward sent Olson tumbling, and the fight was over a few seconds later with the ground strikes. Olson has now lost to Paul Daley and Brennan Ward and will presumably face Douglas Lima next as the logical upward step in receiving ass kickings. Ward will probably get the next title shot vs. Andrey Koreshkov.
Goiti Yamauchi def. Isao Kobayashi via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 3:50)
In the only fight on the main card that appeared to be competitive on paper, the all-Japanese featherweight title between Goiti Yamauchi and Isao Kobayashi proved to be an entertaining affair, but Yamauchi was the victor in the final round after dropping Kobayashi with a huge left hand, controlling him on the ground, and setting up the fight-ending rear-naked choke.
Michael Page def. Charlie Ontiveros via first-round TKO (3:20)
In case you missed the separate post on it already, “MVP” destroyed a hopelessly overmatched opponent by wrecking Charlie Ontiveros’ jaw with elbows. Page improves to 9-0 with 8 wins in the 1st round.
Here are the preliminary card results (via MMA Fighting)
Preliminary Card
Matt Bessette def. Kevin Roddy via submission (heel hook (R1, 3:47)
Matt Secor def. Jeremie Holloway via submission (heel hook) (R2, 4:54)
Marius Enache def. Pete Rogers Jr. via submission (americana) (R2, 2:37)
Kin Moy def. Walter Smith-Cotito via submission (rear-naked choke) (R3, 3:53)
Billy Giovanella def. Brandon Polcare via submission (triangle choke) (R1, 2:19)
Sam Watford def. TJ Hepburn via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Kevin Haley def. Mike Zichelle via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
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