Bellator 280: Ryan Bader Shuts Out Cheick Kongo, Yoel Romero Back On Top

Ryan Bader did it again.

The headlining of Bellator 280 was a rematch between two of the toughest guys of the promotion — champion Ryan Bader and local French fighter Cheick Kongo. This was the rematch between these athletes, a necessary fight after their first battle, which ended as No Contest because of an accidental eye poke.

In this rematch, the champion defeated his rival every second of the fight.

Using his wrestling skills, Bader defeated Kongo by unanimous decision victory 50-45 on all the judges’ scorecards.

The French fighter could not do anything against Bader’s takedowns and control abilities.

Yoel Romero held a show for the fans in the co-main event.

Yoel Romero beat the buzzer, getting the finish with one second left in the third round 🤯 #Bellator280

(via @BellatorMMA) pic.twitter.com/4rnwiOB9uT

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) May 6, 2022

He could finish the fight several times, but did not do it.

In the second round, Romero made a massive knockdown but did not land any extra punch on the ground. He also earned another knockdown in the third round but did not go for the finish.

He landed several great left crosses and low kicks. When he heard the 10 seconds alert, he exploded and landed several great punches and earned a TKO finish just one second before the final bell.

Davy Gallon made the local arena happy by earning a second-round TKO finish against Swiss fighter Benjamin Brander.

Lorez Larkins fought well and landed some vast kicks and punches in the first round. He landed a destroyer kick to the body and earned a TKO victory after landing several punches and knees on the ground.

Gregory Babene was another fighter who managed to win his hometown’s victory. In the first round, Babene defeated Mike Shipman after landing a hook and finished the fight on the ground.

Check out the rest of the results below: 

•  Ryan Bader  def  Cheick Kongo Unanimous Dec 
•  Yoel Romero  def  Alex Polizzi KO/TKO, 4:59 R3 
•  Davy Gallon  def  Benjamin Brander KO/TKO, 3:18 R2 

•  Lorenz Larkin  def  Kyle Stewart KO/TKO, 4:44 R1 
•  Gregory Babene  def  Mike Shipman KO/TKO, 2:11 R1 
•  Piotr Niedzielski  def  Pedro Carvalho Split Dec 
•  Thibault Gouti  def  Lewis Long Unanimous Dec 
•  Jordan Barton  def  Fabacary Diatta Split Dec 

•  Soren Bak  def  Charlie Leary Unanimous Dec 
•  Yves Landu  def  Gavin Hughes KO/TKO, 3:01 R1 
•  Lucie Bertaud  def  Katarzyna Sadura Unanimous Dec 
•  Youcef Ouabbas  def  Matthieu Duclos KO/TKO, 4:17 R1 
•  Bourama Camara  def  Victor Verchere KO/TKO, 3:06 R1