Bellator Belfast results: Anderson wins title with dominant decision, Pitbull retains with brutal finish

23/03/2024 01:00

Corey Anderson has his first world title belt, and Patricio Pitbull held onto his at Bellator Belfast.

The first independent Bellator event under the PFL banner took place Friday at the SSE Arena in Northern Ireland. Every event, per the promotion, will feature two title fights, along with a No. 1 contender bout, which were all on display in Belfast.

The Irish fans were ready to see their hometown fighter get the opportunity to fight for Bellator's vacant light heavyweight championship, and Moore came out landing clean shots on the heavy favorite Anderson, including a head kick, before successfully defending Anderson's first attempt at a takedown. That success didn't last long, however, as Anderson was able to get to his bread and butter halfway through the first round, then dominate top position for the rest of the frame.

Anderson continued to clinch and grapple his way through Round 2 and certainly made the challenger work hard. After a warning from the referee for more action to start the third, Anderson landed an effortless takedown seconds in. Moore put a brief scare in the former UFC fighter with a near-miracle armbar, but Anderson escaped. The referee stood the fighters up and Moore landed some clean punches before the bell sounded.

The final two rounds were essentially the same as the first three — Moore was the better fighter on the feet for the most part, but Anderson's grappling was too much, and "Overtime" can now call himself a world champion in his 24th pro fight after a dominant decision win. The final scores saw it 50-45, 49-46, and 49-46 in Anderson's favor.

"We got it, but 'Overtime' is not satisfied," Anderson said afterward.

"We've got more work to do and more names to beat."

Patricio Pitbull mauls Jeremy Kennedy for brutal third-round finish

Patricio Pitbull put his Bellator featherweight title on the line for the first time since October 2022 in Friday's co-main event against Canada's Jeremy Kennedy, and entered the bout looking for his first win since December 2022.

And he accomplished just that to retain his championship with a third-round TKO stoppage win over Kennedy, who was starting to build quite a bit of momentum before the finish.

Pitbull established himself at the start of the fight with some nasty leg kicks that welted up the left ankle of Kennedy, which was the difference-maker in the opening round. The challenger picked up the pace a bit more in the second, although that leg continued to take damage from Pitbull's hard kicks. An accidental low blow from Kennedy caused a delay with 12 seconds left in the second, but Kennedy was able to change momentum overall.

In the third, Kennedy stung Pitbull and sent the champ sitting to the mat with a gash on his head. The Xtreme Couture product's confidence was visibly rising as each second of Round 3 ticked away — until Pitbull landed a big shot that badly hurt Kennedy, and led to the championship-retaining finish.

In the featured bout, Fabian Edwards earned a rematch with Johnny Eblen for the Bellator middleweight title with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Aaron Jeffery in a No. 1 contender fight.

Get full Bellator Belfast results below.

• Corey Anderson def. Karl Moore via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46 x2)
• Patricio Pitbull def. Jeremy Kennedy via third-round TKO (4:07)
• Fabian Edwards def. Aaron Jeffery via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Leandro Higo def. James Gallagher via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
• Manoel Sousa def. Tim Wilde via first-round KO (4:48) | Watch finish
• Ciaran Clarke def. Darius Mafi via submission (arm-triangle) (R3, 0:41)
• Alfie Davis def. Oscar Ownsworth via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Luke Trainer def. Grant Neal via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Nathan Kelly def. Vikas Singh Ruhil via first-round KO (0:40) | Watch finish
• Abraham Bably def. Isaiah Pinson via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
• Nate Kelly def. Jordan Elliott via submission (armbar) (R1, 1:48) (amateur)