Sakara KOs Beltran in 1:20

When Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho pulled out of Bellator 168, it became a chance for Italian Alessio Sakara to put on a main-event performance the crowd in his home country would not forget.

And Sakara delivered just that, finishing Joey Beltran in just 1:20.

Sakara came out firing, throwing heavy shots practically right as the opening bell rang. The bout was briefly stopped early after Beltran was hit with a poke to the eye, but the fight resumed not long after.

One flurry of punches later, highlighted by a heavy right hand, and Beltran went down to the mat, ending the fight just like that.

Sakara is now 2-0 in Bellator since making his promotional debut earlier this year.

Bellator 168 Results:
Alessio Sakara def. Joey Beltran via TKO (Rd. 1, 1:20)
Goiti Yamauchi def. Valeriu Mircea via submission (triangle choke) (Rd. 1, 3:33)
Ed Ruth def. Emanuele Palombi via TKO (Rd. 1, 1:33)
Kleber Raimundo Silva def. Philipe Lins via TKO (Rd. 2, 3:42)
John Salter def. Claudio Annicchiarico via TKO  (Rd. 1, 1:40)