It was a fantastic night for the competitors representing Bellator at the PFL vs Bellator CHAMPS card, with the promotion almost securing a clean sweep in the champion vs champion bouts.
The biggest upset of the night came in the main event of the evening when Ryan Bader was handed his first loss since 2021 in just 21 seconds, when Renan Ferreira secured the thirteenth win of his professional career.
Just 15 seconds into the fight, the 2023 PFL Heavyweight champion landed a stiff right hand on the chin of Bader, which sent the Bellator champion crashing to the mat. Then once the Brazilian unloaded numerous strikes on the floored Bader, the referee stepped in and waved the contest off.
Other than the main event, the Bellator athletes shone throughout the night.
Johnny Eblen remained undefeated but it was undoubtedly his toughest test to date in a split decision win over Impa Kasanganay in the co-main event. Over the 15 minute affair, Eblen was pushed more than he has ever been before in order to grind out the win on two of the three judges scorecards.
Jason Jackson stopped Ray Cooper II in the second round with stoppage and extended his unbeaten run to 8, adding yet another big name to his resume.
Vadim Nemkov looked more than comfortable at heavyweight and stopped Bruno Cappelozza with a second round Triangle.
The big wins kept coming for the Bellator Yoel Romero proving age is merely just a number with a unanimous decision win over Thiago Santos.
AJ McKee Jr. started the card strong for the Bellator contingency, submitting Clay Collard in the very first round.
Aaron Pico made the most of being able to use elbows in the cross promotional bout and unloaded huge shots to a grounded Henry Corrales to even things up between the two.
On the undercard, Biaggio Ali Walsh got his professional career off to winning ways with a unanimous decision over Emmanuel Palacio whilst the 'GWOAT' Claressa Shields moved to 2-1 with a hard fought split decision win against Kelsey DeStantis.
The Saudi Arabians secured a 100% win rate in their home nation with Abdullah Al-Qahtani and Malik Basahel both getting wins against Edukondala Rao and Vinicius Pereira, respectively.
