The ninth Bellator MMA event of 2015 was the "Lima vs. Koreshkov" card, also known as Bellator 140, which took place last night (July 17, 2015) on Spike TV inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The featured bout at the top of the almost all Welterweight televised card was the first title defense for Douglas Lima, who claimed the vacant title in April 2014 and hasn't been seen since. His opponent Andrey Koreshkov has been equally absent since Bellator 122 last July. Would ring rust negatively impact either man?
Yes. Clearly the time away from the cage took a bigger toll on Lima than it did on Koreshkov, who was relentless with takedowns throughout the first four rounds, and when Lima would sweep he would single leg him and get right back on top. Desperately needing a home run in the fifth round Lima found none and only scored offensively with seconds left when Koreshkov let him on top to run out the clock. Most of the fight looked a little like this.
By scores of 48-47 and 50-45 X2, Andrey Koreshkov is your new Bellator Welterweight Champion. He spoke to Jimmy Smith after the gold went around his waist.
"It's not my belt. Our belt. My team belt. My coach's belt Shlemenko. I did it for my friends, my family, my team, I didn't disappoint anybody. I respect everyone who respects me, so I just wish them good luck to get close to this belt, and then we'll see."
New Bellator fighter Josh Koscheck spoke to Jimmy Smith to give his thoughts on Paul Daley before his bout.
"I'm super excited about this opportunity. Hopefully (Daley) can pull this out so we can do it in December but that's up to Scott Coker and Bellator. This is going to be a great fight for the fans. Hopefully they stay on the feet so they can put on a show for this crowd."
That Paul Daley fight wound up being at a catchweight of 173 pounds due to Dennis Olson missing weight. "Semtex" had no problem taking the fight regardless and vowed to make it a quick affair.
The fight lasted a round longer than Daley expected and a round shorter than Olson needed. Olson was game in the first round, scoring a couple of takedowns and frustrating Daley with his submission attempts, but Daley would sweep and/or pull free each time - and when he landed hands Olson would tie his arms up defensively.
That strategy ran out of gas at 1:12 of the second round as one more hard left caused Dan Miragliotta to wave it off. Here's a taste of how it looked in late in R1.
Daley spoke to Jimmy Smith after the official time was announced.
"I'm a perfectionist, I still wasn't completely happy. When anybody fights me they always fight their best. I would have liked to have taken him out in the first round but he was a tough guy. I thought if I keep the pressure on him, I'll get the stoppage. Well me and Koscheck, we're going to get a big fight on real soon. I still hate that hair, I still hate him, and we're going to settle it in the Bellator cage."
A late replacement change turned one of the night's bouts into an all Irish-American affair as "The Irish Bad Boy" Brennan Ward took on "The Leprechaun" Roger Carroll, with Ward looking to notch his second Welterweight win.
There was no doubt that Carroll was overmatched from the start, but "The Leprechaun" wore his I'm-just-happy-to-be-here grin even as Ward knocked him down and dumped him on his back over and over. A kick to the cup only delayed the inevitable, and when Ward recovered he poured it on until finally getting the knockout at 2:06.
The always excitable Ward spoke to Jimmy Smith after being announced the winner.
"Man, I say it every time I fight at home, these fans have my back through thick and thin. I have the best fans in the world, I do it for you guys, thank you I love you guys. I knew it was a matter of time, he was covering up. I can't help but to get out there and throw bombs. I'M A BOMBER BABY! I'll take anybody, this division's tough and this division's thick. 170, I'm here."
A bout with the potential to shape the division's future was set for the evening between undefeated Chris "The Cutt" Honeycutt locked horns with fellow collegiate wrestling standout Paul "The Gentleman" Bradley.
Unfortunately when both fighters locked horns, they also butted heads, and the second clash left a deep cut in Bradley's forehead that the doctor ruled he could not fight on. The result was a no contest at 2:47 of round two.
Rounding out the main card was an action packed showdown between the undefeated Michael "Venom" Page and his hapless opponent Rudy "Bad News" Bears that opened the Spike TV broadcast. Page scored an early knockdown, and Bears had just one chance in response and lost it when he was easily swept on a takedown 25 seconds in. Page nailed him with a huge left and at 1:05 left Todd Anderson no choice but to stop the fight.
Page spoke to Jimmy Smith about his scintillating striking performance.
"I just want to say one thing quickly - the one and only MVP is back! This is what I do all day man. I'm a precision striker. I don't just throw for the sake of throwing. I throw and that's what happens. I think everyone saw exactly what kind of statement I made tonight."
The televised bouts were paired with exciting "Prelims" action that aired exclusively on Spike.com.
Check out our live streaming Bellator 140 results RIGHT HERE to see who else made a name for themselves inside the cage last night in Mulvane.