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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Manoel Sousa may be the in the driver’s seat for the most vicious knockout of the weekend.

Sousa faced Tim Wilde in the main card opener of Friday’s Bellator Belfast event at the SSE Arena, in the first independent Bellator event under the PFL banner. After a tough start dealing with the movement and elusiveness of Wilde, Sousa inched closer and closer to landing a big shot — and toward the end of the opening round, Sousa found the button, face-planting Wilde unconscious with a brutal left hand.

Check out the video of the incredible knockout below.

Sousa, who earned a split decision win on the PFL Challenger Series more than 13 months ago in his most recent bout, improved his professional record to 11-0, picking up the seventh knockout victory of his career.

Wilde’s six-fight unbeaten streak came to an end after entering Friday coming off of a third-round knockout of Mike Hamel at Bellator 301 in November.

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Results
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Bellator MMA is officially back with its first-ever solo event under Professional Fighters League (PFL) ownership. The re-branded “Champions Series” will kick off later TODAY (Fri., March 22, 2024) inside SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, streaming live on DAZN (and MAX). Headlining the event will be a vacant Light Heavyweight title fight as Corey Anderson gets his third try to win the strap when he battles Karl Moore. In the co-main event, Featherweight champion, Patricio Pitbull, puts his belt on the line against Jeremy Kennedy.

Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action, which will begin at 1 p.m. ET with the early “Prelims,” and then transition to the main card at 4 p.m. ET. Feel free to leave a comment (or several) about the bouts and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it’s always a lot of fun!

BELLATOR BELFAST QUICK RESULTS:

205 lbs.: Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore
145 lbs.: Patricio Pitbull vs. Jeremy Kennedy
185 lbs.: Fabian Edwards vs. Aaron Jeffery
155 lbs.: Tim Wilde vs. Manoel Sousa
145 lbs.: James Gallagher vs. Leandro Higo
135 lbs.: Ciaran Clarke vs. Darius Mafi
155 lbs.: Oscar Ownsworth vs. Alfie Davis – Davis via unanimous decision
130 lbs: Nate Kelly vs. Jordan Elliott – Kelly via first-round knockout
265 lbs.: Abraham Bably vs. Isaiah Pinson – Bably via unanimous decision
205 lbs.: Luke Trainer vs. Grant Neal – Trainer via unanimous decision
145 lbs: Nathan Kelly vs. Vikas Sing Ruhil – Kelly via first-round submission (armbar)

BELLATOR BELFAST PLAY-BY-PLAY:

205 lbs.: Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Round 4:

Round 5:

Final result:

145 lbs.: Champion Patricio Pitbull vs. Jeremy Kennedy

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Round 4:

Round 5:

Final result:

185 lbs.: Fabian Edwards vs. Aaron Jeffery

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Final result:

155 lbs.: Tim Wilde vs. Manoel Sousa

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Final result:

145 lbs.: James Gallagher vs. Leandro Higo

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Final result:

To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Whether it’s in Bellator of the PFL, Nathan Kelly remains one of the featherweight division’s most exciting fighters.

Kelly thrilled the crowd on Friday at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with a vicious first-round elbow knockout of Vikas Singh Ruhil. It was eighth finish in 10 wins for the Irishman.

See Kelly’s impressive knockout below.

Kelly immediately bullied Singh Ruhil against the fence, giving the Bellator newcomer zero room to operate. With Singh Ruhil effectively neutralized, Kelly loaded up his right elbow and drove it into the side of his opponent’s head. The impact was immediate and the referee soon jumped in to save Singh Ruhil.

The official time of the stoppage was 40 seconds into Round 1.

Kelly returned to the Bellator cage after a successful run with PFL Europe. He improved to 10-2 as a pro, while Singh Ruhil sees his pro record fall to 12-8.

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Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is looking to become a two-division champion in the promotion.

Namajunas is a two-time strawweight champion and is set to remain at women’s flyweight as she takes on Amanda Ribas in the main event of UFC Vegas 89. It’s an intriguing matchup as Namajunas looks to avoid the first ever three-fight losing streak of her career. Although Namajunas is on a losing skid, Rose Namajunas is confident she still can become a champion, and hopes to win the flyweight title this year.

“Becoming two-division champion this year would be awesome,” Namajunas said, speaking at UFC Vegas 89 media day on Wednesday, via MMAFighting. “I know that’s a very steep mountain to climb and I know I had some setbacks, so obviously I’ve got to be realistic, but I do believe that that’s very realistic and God-willing that’s what’s going to happen. I’ve just got to take care of business this weekend and that’s what we’ll do.”

With UFC Vegas 89 being her second fight at women’s flyweight, Rose Namajunas says she feels like she’s really starting to get a solid frame at 125lbs and says she’s healthier than ever.

“My body’s feeling great,” Namajunas said. “I definitely put on more muscle for this fight. I’m around the same size as I was last time, I’m just more filled in, I’m more dense. Muscles are recovering, definitely was an intense training camp, but yeah, injury free and healthy and immune system’s super strong, I think some of those weight cuts before kind of taxed my immune system a little bit sometimes, so I’m very thankful for the health.”

Rose Namajunas Is likely done at strawweight

Entering her UFC Vegas 89 main event, Rose Namajunas is the betting favorite to defeat Amanda Ribas. Should Namajunas get the win, she would be close to a title shot.

With that, Namajunas says she is focused on fighting at 125lbs and doesn’t think dropping back down to strawweight is healthy for her.

“I just think health-wise, to me, it’s just not a healthy thing to do for me at this point,” Namajunas said of a possible return to strawweight. “I know that I can keep pushing through it. My mind got a lot stronger with cutting the weight, but I could tell my body was definitely not liking that as much.

“I could tell from my last strawweight cut. My eyes were sunken in and now it’s kind of hard to see myself like that. So even though the will gets stronger, the flesh gets weaker, so to me I’m all about health and wellness. Even though we’re about to go and fight, I want to preserve as much as possible,” Namajunas concluded.

Namajunas enters her UFC Vegas 89 main event fight with an 11-6 record and is coming off a decision loss to Manon Fiorot.

LowKickMMA.com

UFC Vegas 89 main event fighter Amanda Ribas was the first to step on the scales on Friday during the official weigh-in.  The eighth-ranked women’s flyweight takes on former two-time strawweight titleholder Rose Namajunas.  

Both women weighed the exact same, 125.5 pounds.  Ribas (13-4) is coming off a highlight-reel spinning wheel kick finish over Luana Pinheiro in her last fight. Namajunas (11-6) made her 125-pound debut in her last outing against Manon Fiorot and lost via unanimous decision. Ribas will be looking to secure the biggest win in her career while Namajunas seeks to pick up her first win in her new weight class.  

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts