Corey Anderson was crowned the new Bellator Light Heavyweight champion as Pitbull defended his Featherweight strap at the inaugural Bellator Champions Series.
Anderson eventually got his hands on the 205lbs belt at his third time of asking, claiming a unanimous decision win against Karl Moore. Anderson was able to implement his gameplan extremely well throughout the 25 minute affair and claimed four of the five rounds on all three judges scorecards. However, midway through the third round, it looked as though Moore was about to have the dream homecoming in front of the Belfast crowd at the SSE Arena. Moore managed to latch onto an arm and pull on an extremely tight arm bar but could not find the angle to get the tap, whilst Anderson remained calm and managed to work his way out of the bad position.
In the co-main event Pitbull retained his featherweight strap in a back and fourth fight against Jeremy Kennedy, in his first win since December 2022.
The champion started well in the first round, cracking in many calf kicks on Kennedy but they appeared to be too low to affect Kennedy. The challenger looked to grow into the bout in the second round but a low blow towards the end of the round took the momentum of the contest.
In the third round, Kennedy landed a left hook followed by a flurry of shots, with an elbow splitting Pitbull open. Like a red rag to a bull, Pitbull pulled himself out of the deep waters, poured the pressure on and managed to stop Kennedy with some serious strikes whilst having the challenger up against the fence.
Fabian Edwards earned his rematch with Johnny Eblen with a unanimous decision win against Aaron Jeffery.
Jeffery utilised his forward pressure against the cage well in the first round but Edwards grew into the contest and started picking the Canadian apart with sharp shots as he looked to engage in a grappling contest. Just towards the end of the second round, Edwards landed a huge uppercut followed by a slick elbow which cut his opponent. It was much of the same from the Birmingham man in the third which helped him secure the contest. Edwards took control in the third and will now face Eblen once more, later in the champions series.
Leandro Higo silenced the Belfast crowd with a unanimous decision win against James Gallagher. After a slow start to the contest, things really came to life when Higo landed a spinning back fist, of which Gallagher done well to stay standing from. The Strabane man then looked to tie up Higo in a heel hook, then ankle lock but the pair made it through the first round.
The second round was extremely close with Gallagher just edging it but Higo rallied in the third to take the bout two rounds to one.
In the opening bout of the main card, Manoel Sousa remained unbeaten with a huge left hook knock out over Tim Wilde. It was the Birmingham man that was finding the most success across the opening round with his elusive movement making him extremely difficult to hit. However, 9 seconds from the end of the first round and Sousa caught Wile with an inch perfect left hook, instantly rendering the Renegade man unconcious.
In the feature preliminary bout, Ciaran Clarke made a real statement to be considered as one of the best in the promotion at 135lbs with a third round submission win against Darius Mafi.
Alfie Davis edged Oscar Ownsworth in all three rounds to claim a unanimous decision victory against the late call up. With the win, Davis now finds himself on a four fight unbeaten streak.
Luke 'The Gent' Trainer also took home a unanimous decision victory, after a hard fought 15 minutes against Grant Neal.
Nathan Kelly made the most of being able to elbows for the first time in 2 years with a stunning first round knockout against Vikas Singh Ruhil.
There were also big wins for Abraham Bably and Nate Kelly.
