Bellator 282: Johnny Eblen Stuns Gegard Mousasi, Becomes New Bellator Champion
Johnny Eblen’s victory was not just that — he dominated against one of the best MMA fighters.
Eblen, an unknown, yet undefeated contender, controlled veteran Gegard Mousasi for Bellator’s middleweight title Friday night at Bellator 282.
👀 We head into the Championship rounds between @Mousasi_MMA and @JohnnyEblen.#Bellator282 live NOW on @SHOsports
💻 https://t.co/Zg0a3DUrFs pic.twitter.com/ftyjpWPYaF— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 25, 2022
In the first round, Eblen stunned Mousasi with a right hand on the nose.
Eblen, an American, used his wrestling sublimely to dominate. Mousasi had his moments with powerful combinations, but Eblen managed and shined with the takedowns.
Eblen sealed the victory with the judge’s score card of 50-45, winning all five rounds.
Mousasi moved to 13-1 since the start of 2016, which included wins over Uriah Hall, Lyoto Machida and Douglas Lima, to name a few. For Eblen, he remains undefeated; prior to Friday, he only had one other win over a Bellator-ranked fighter.
In the grand prix of the bantamweight division, Danny Sabatello earned a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian Leonardo Higo in a five-round battle.
Magomed Magomedov earned another stunning victory via jumping guillotine against Enrique Barzola in the fourth round of the fight.
𝑯𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒕! 🤯@MagomedovTiger1 is the first fighter to finish @ElFuerteBarzola, earning his spot in the #BellatorBWGP semi-finals 👏#Bellator282 live NOW on @SHOsports
💻 https://t.co/Zg0a3DUrFs pic.twitter.com/tKJsSfzsfH— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 25, 2022
Check out the rest of the results below:
- Johnny Eblen def Gegard Mousasi Unanimous Dec
- Danny Sabatello def Leandro Higo Unanimous Dec
- Magomed Magomedov def Enrique Barzola Sub, 1:27 R4
- Brennan Ward def Kassius Kayne KO/TKO, 1:11 R2
- Killys Mota def Dan Moret Unanimous Dec
- Lucas Brennan def Johnny Soto Sub, 3:34 R1
- Alexander Shabliy def Brent Primus KO/TKO, 1:22 R2
- Cat Zingano def Pam Sorenson Unanimous Dec
- Anatoly Tokov def Muhammad Abdullah KO/TKO, 2:28 R1
- Sabah Homasi def Maycon Mendonça KO/TKO, 0:58 R1
- Clara Joanne def Alejandra Lara Unanimous Dec
- James Gonzalez def Cody Law Unanimous Dec
- Aaron Jeffery def Fabio Aguiar KO/TKO, 3:30 R2
- Mandel Nallo def Bryce Logan KO/TKO, 1:07 R1