Bellator 263 Results

The final of the Featherweight Grand Prix went down on Saturday night. Champion Patricio Pitbull took on undefeated phenom AJ Mckee in the main event. There was also some Irish interest on the card with Brian Moore and Kiefer Crosbie set to compete on the card which takes place at the LA Forum in California.

SBG’s own Brian Moore kicked the action off tonight when he beat Jordan Winski via unanimous decision. Winski took the fight on short notice but stayed moving forward throughout the entire fight. Moore showcased a solid jab and landed crisp combinations throughout the fight. It was the Wexford mans use of the calf kick which compromised Winski, and that played a vital role in Moore taking control of the fight. Moore, who has won his last three fights, claimed to have broken his foot early in the fight in his post fight presser. Lets hope “The Pikeman can recover in time for the all but confirmed November card in Dublin.

It was mixed fortunes for SBG fighters on the card as Kiefer Crosbie succumbed to a first round submission against Georgi Karakhanyan in his lightweight debut. The north inner city Dublin man locked in fantastic shape and started the fight with some good striking. “BDK” decided to grapple with his opponent and that proved to be a costly error. Karahanyan had his back taken but managed to escape into full guard, he quickly moved to an arm triangle and forced the tap from Crosbie.

Joshua Jones finished Johnny Cisneros in round two in a catchweight bout at 180 lbs.

Khasan Magomedsharipov, brother of Zabit, won his Bellator debut in style tonight when he beat Jonathan Quiroz in the featherweight division. The Russian remains undefeated with six wins under his belt.

Gadzhi Rabadanov timed the leg kick of Daniel Carey and landed a beautiful left-hook to end the fight in the very first round. Very impressive debut from the Russian.

Vanessa Porto and Ilara Joanne put on a fantastic fight in the women’s flyweight division. The fight was an back and forth battle which went to the judges scorecards. Two out of three judges scored it for Vanessa Porto who moves to 33-9 after the split decision.

Goiti Yamauchi stopped Chris Gonzalez in the early stages of their lightweight encounter which opened up the main card. Yamauchi landed a flurry of strikes which force the ref to call a halt to the fight at 3:53 of round one.

Islam Mamedov beat Brent Primus in a close fight that went all the way to the judges scorecards. Mamedov did enough to beat the former lightweight champion by split decision.

Usman Nurmagomedov make short work of his opponent Manny Muro, Usman, who is a cousin of Khabib, remains undefeated in thirteen outings.

Emmanuel Sanchez lost his second fight on the bounce as he dropped a split decision to Mads Burnell in the featherweight division. The fight could have gone either way but it was the Denmark man who got the nod from two out of the three judges that scored the fight.

In the main event AJ McKee stunned Patricio Pitbull to become the new featherweight champion. McKee stunned his Brazilian rival with a head kick and landed a flurry of punches which dropped Pitbull. McKee stopped momentarily thinking he had the job done which allowed his adversary to recover, the California man jumped on a guillotine which briefly put Patricio to sleep which forced Mike Beltran to call a halt to the fight. McKee picked up the title, and one million dollars prize money in his own backyard. McKee is a serious talent and has a very bright future ahead of him. We may even see him challenge for Pitbull’s lightweight title next, what a fight that would be.

Featherweight GP Final:

A.J. McKee def. Patricio Pitbull via sub (guillotine) at 1:57 of Round 1

Featherweight: Mads Burnell def. Emmanuel Sanchez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)

Lightweight: Usman Nurmagomedov def. Manny Muro via TKO (Knee) at 3:00 of Round 1

Lightweight: Islam Mamedov def. Brent Primus via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Lightweight: Goiti Yamauchi def. Chris Gonzalez via TKO (strikes) at 3:53 of Round 1

Women’s Flyweight: Vanessa Porto def. Ilara Joanne via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Catchweight 150 lbs: Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Daniel Carey via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:57

Featherweight: Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Jonathan Quiroz via TKO (punches) at 4:21 of Round 2

Catchweight 180 lbs: Joshua Jones def. Johnny Cisneros via TKO (punches) at 4:15 of Round 2

Lightweight: G. Karakhanyan vs. Georgi Karakhanyan def. Kiefer Crosbie via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 4:25 of Round 1

Bantamweight: Brian Moore def. Jordan Winski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26 x2)