On Saturday, April 28, Bellator MMA returned to the Chicago area for its 198th event which took place from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.
In the night’s main event, two of the sport’s most decorated heavyweights finally locked horns as former Pride FC king Fedor Emelianenko met former UFC titleholder Frank Mir in the opening round of the heavyweight grand prix. The 41-year-old Emelianenko made his Bellator debut last June, falling via knockout in just 74 seconds to Matt Mitrione. The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak for the Russian. Mir, meanwhile, had been sidelined for over two years due to a performance-enhancing drug suspension. The 38-year-old was just 2-6 over his last eight appearances, including a first-round knockout defeat to Mark Hunt in his last bout.
The action kicked off with a live preliminary-card stream on Combat Press at 7 p.m. ET. The main card followed at 9 p.m. ET on the Paramount Network.
Emmanuel Sanchez def. Sam Sicilia by submission (arm-triangle choke). Round 1, 3:52
Neiman Gracie def. Javier Torres by submission (arm-triangle choke) Round 3, 3:18
Rafael Lovato Jr. def. Gerald Harris by submission (armbar) Round 1, 1:11
Dillon Danis def. Kyle Walker by submission (toe hold) Round 1, 1:38
R’Mandel Cameron def. P.J. Cajigas by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Mark Stoddard def. Dan Stittgen by submission (triangle choke) Round 1, 4:43
Eric Wisley def. Morgan Sickinger by submission (armbar) Round 1, 1:12
Joey Diehl def. Nate Williams by submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 0:54
Asef Askar vs. Andrew Johnson ruled a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Adil Benjilany def. Corey Jackson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Sultan Umar def. Tom Angeloff by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Robert Morrow def Adam Maciejewski by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
James Bennett def. Dustin Stusse by TKO. Round 1