Fight Facts: Bellator 207
Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers. * * *
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR FIGHTS: 2,161
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 207
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NO SUB! CHEEBURGER!: Despite billing Bellator 207 with 13 fights, none ended by submission, making it the first event with at least ten fights since Bellator 107 in 2013 to feature no submissions.
IT AIN’T ALWAYS PRETTY: Taking down and beating up
Matt
Mitrione for three rounds, and earning himself one 30-24 score
and two 30-25s, Ryan Bader
won a blowout decision. In doing so, Bader has now won more bouts
by decision than any other method, with 12 bouts going to the
scorecards in his 31 career bouts. Bader has never lost a
decision.
BEHOLD A DARK HORSE…AGAIN: When he leveled Roy Nelson with knees and punches in the first round, Sergei Kharitonov successfully finished his opponent in 26 of his 28 career victories. In Kharitonov’s last 12 fights dating back to 2012, he has only lost once.
GETTING TOO OLD FOR THIS STUFF: With 13 first round stoppage wins to his credit, Nelson’s knockout loss with one second left in round one was the first time he had been stopped in the first round.
HE’S GOT LEGS, HE KNOWS HOW TO USE THEM: After knocking out Carrington Banks with a knee in the second round, Mandel Nallo improved his undefeated record to 7-0, finishing all seven of his opponents within two rounds. All of his knockouts have come with his legs, either with head kicks or knees.
THE UNHOLY TWO: Following his decision win over Tim Caron, throughout his 8 fight MMA career Vinicius de Jesus has won twice by knockout, twice by submission and twice by decision. His only two losses came by split decision verdicts.
SIX-SIX-SIX THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST: Demolishing Alex Potts in six seconds, Mike Kimbel tied the record for the fastest knockout in Bellator history. This was actually the second six-second knockout of 2018, as Michele Martignoni leveled Simone D’Anna with a head kick at Bellator 203 in July. Hector Lombard famously set that record against Jay Silva at Bellator 18 in 2010.
ELBONANZA: Alexandra Ballou’s third round stoppage over Lisa Blaine with elbows marked the second time in Bellator women’s divisional history that a fight ended with elbow strikes. At Bellator 154 in 2016, Jaimee Nievara finished Stephanie Frausto with elbows also in the third round. Although officially deemed a doctor stoppage, Janay Harding slashed Sinead Kavanaugh with an elbow causing a cut that would end up stopping the fight.
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN: Coming into Bellator 207, Banks had never been knocked out (eight fights), Caron had never gone the distance (nine fights) and Sean Lally had never lost by decision (11 fights).
IT’S THE DREAM OF THE FIGHT: Making his walk to the cage accompanied by a cover of “Eye of the Tiger,” originally performed by Survivor, Kharitonov knocked out Nelson in the first round. As a walkout song over in the UFC, it serves among the top five most utilized songs, although it sports the only winning percentage below .500 for a song with over 30 recorded uses.
CONTRACTS, HOW DO THEY WORK: Two fighters on the main card, Ion Pascu and Corey Browning, walked out to songs by Metallica, with Pascu choosing “Nothing Else Matters” and Browning selecting “Enter Sandman.” A frequently used walkout artist in past Ultimate Fighting Championship events, following Brock Lesnar’s use of “Enter Sandman” at UFC 200 in 2016, the UFC has not been allowed to play Metallica songs for walkouts. Most famously, UFC strawweight Carla Esparza had used “Harvester of Sorrow” for most of her career until the UFC nixed it in 2017, forcing her to change to “Walk” by Pantera and then “Bodies” by Drowning Pool.
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