Bellator 232 Results: Fighter wins two titles and $1 Million in the main event, fight ends in 38-second knockout
On paper, the second event of this weekend's Bellator doubleheader promised to one of the best fight cards of the year coming from the Scott Coker-led promotion.
The stakes were incredibly high for the main event. The winner of the Welterweight Grand Prix final between Rory MacDonald and Douglis Lima would leave the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut with the Bellator Welterweight Championship, the Grand Prix belt and a million dollars.
The first outing between the two Welterweights ended with MacDonald getting the win over Lima and the anticipation levels were noticeably high for the rematch.
The co-main event saw two MMA veterans Paul Daley and Saad Awad locked up inside the cage for another Welterweight contest. The highly-rated Patrick Mix was also featured and he didn't disappoint as he pulled off something that has never been witnessed in Bellator's history.
All said and done, Bellator 232 was marketed as one of the biggest cards of the year and it lived up to its billing. Here are the results and highlights of the show:
Bellator 232 Results: Prelims
Devin Powell def. Marcus Surin via submission (front choke) (5:0, Round 2)
Zarrukh Adashev def. Tevin Dyce via TKO (1:39, Round 2)
Ryan Evans def. Demetrios Plaza via submission (rear-naked choke) (3:02, Round 3)
Lance Gibson Jr. def. Dominic Jones via TKO (1:58, Round 1)
Jornel Lugo def. John Douma via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Jonathan Lopez def. Dan Cormier via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Bellator 232 Results: Main Card
#1 Kevin Ferguson Jr. (Baby Slice) (3-2) vs. Craig Campbell (2-3) (Lightweight)
Baby Slice was a last-minute addition to the Bellator 232 card even though he was not 100% as he previously struggled from a knee injury. He assured that his knee would hold up and it didn't even matter in the end.
Round 1: Slice rushed forward with a combo but he couldn't connect properly. Campbell answered by coming forward as well, but Slice attempted a kick.
Campbell caught the leg kick and didn't let go of the heel. Slice capitalized on the situation and connected with downward elbows to the back of Campbell's head, the second of which looked to be illegal. However, the referee let it slide with a warning as Slice followed up the three elbows with five hammer fists. Campbell was knocked out cold as a result of the repeated strikes and the fight came to an end in merely 38 seconds.
What a start!
Result: Kevin Ferguson Jr. def. Craig Campbell via TKO (0:38, Round 1)
While the second elbow was certainly not a part of the rule book, Slice did everything otherwise to end the fight convincingly. He avoided going down and was clever enough to exploit the opening. Slice also gave us another example of his knockout power and clinically finished Campbell with well-placed strikes to the head.