Bellator 250 Results: Gegard Mousasi regains middleweight title in back and forth main event encounter
Fight game veteran Gegard Mousasi added another feather to his cap by regaining the Bellator MMA middleweight title on Thursday inside the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Gegard Mousasi crowned king of middleweights at Bellator 250
Gegard Mousasi made his vast experience and size difference count when he fought the reigning Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima with the vacant middleweight title on the line in the main event of Bellator 250. Mousasi emerged victorious via unanimous decision after five rounds of back and forth action in the Bellator MMA fight. Two judges scored the fight 49-46 and another judge scored it 48-47 in favor of Mousasi.
"I didn't want to waste too much energy and I felt that I was winning the rounds and fighting at a good pace to pressure him backwards," Mousasi said. "I was scoring the rounds and I thought this was maybe good to secure the last round with a takedown. The takedowns secured the round and I got the win."
Mousasi was clearly the better fighter on the night, having taken down his opponent 4 times during the bout and wasn't taken down even once during the five scheduled rounds. Mousasi landed more strikes than Lima, with the significant strikes coming to 89-50. This also helped to ultimately clinch the win, which happens to be his tenth win in the last eleven fights.
"The last round, he hit me a couple times and I had to show a good poker face but he really hurt me," Mousasi said. "I felt like Douglas Lima was in his prime and he even looked big. He didn't look like a welterweight but I thought I had the technical advantage. I could mix in the takedowns but he was good enough that I couldn't put him away. Another guy I probably would have finished. He was game, he was experienced and he paces himself."
Mousasi dominated the opening rounds by mixing up his superior ground game effortlessly, combining a pair of takedowns, hitting Lima with nasty elbows from the top mount, and gassing the Brazilian out by using his size to lay all over the Bellator welterweight champ, who was visible gasping for breath in the later rounds.
However, Lima did pull up his socks towards the end of the fight, hitting Mousasi with a few combinations but Mousasi's outside leg kicks and stiff jabs stubbed out the late charge by Lima.
Check out the results of all fights from the Bellator 250 card below:
Gegard Mousasi (c) def. Douglas Lima via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Henry Corrales def. Brandon Girtz via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 30-27)
Dalton Rosta def. Ty Gwerder via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jake Hager def. Brandon Calton via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Sabah Homasi def. Bobby Voelker via second-round TKO (punches)
Johnny Eblen def. Taylor Johnson via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Adam Borics def. Erick Sanchez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Cody Law def. Orlando Ortega via first-round submission (D'Arce choke)