Bellator 127 Results: Straus Crushes Wilcox, Gonzalez Stops Parisyan

On Friday, Oct. 3, Bellator MMA hosted its 127th event from the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.

In the night’s main event, former featherweight champion Daniel Straus returned to action to face off with Strikeforce veteran Justin Wilcox. Straus had been out of action since March when he lost his belt to Pat Curran via fifth-round submission. The loss snapped a six-fight winning streak for the 30-year-old fighter. Wilcox, meanwhile, had won three of his last four fights. The former bodybuilder had most recently defeated Jason Fischer by decision in March. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter had reinvented himself in the 145-pound division after a tough stretch at lightweight.

The main card also featured UFC alums Karo Parisyan, Kendall Grove and Rob Emerson. Parisyan tookon Fernando Gonzalez at welterweight, the TUF winner Grove will faced off with former Bellator light heavyweight champion Christian M’Pumbu at middleweight, and Rob Emerson looked to continue his recent success at bantamweight against Rafael Silva.

The 11-fight event kicked off with a live stream of the preliminary card on Spike.com beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The four-fight main card aired live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET.

In the main event, former featherweight champion, Daniel Straus made a statement for another shot at the title with a vicious knockout victory over Justin Wilcox. Straus landed a crushing left hook that sent Wilcox face-planting to the canvas, ending the fight in under a minute in the opening round.

Fernando Gonzalez’s career resurgence in Bellator continued with a first-round TKO victory over Karo Parisyan. Gonzalez dropped Parisyan with a short left hand and followed up with some violent ground-and-pound until referee Mike Beltran saw enough at the 1:43 mark. The loss snapped a two-fight win streak for Parisyan.

Rafael Silva returned to the win column with a dominant performance from the opening bell to the last. Silva showed his superior skill set in all facets of the game, but his wrestling and top position control earned him the clean sweep on the cards, getting the unanimous decision victory from the judges.

Kendall Grove earned his third win in his last four fights, with a second-round submission victory over former Bellator light heavyweight champ, Christian M’Pumbu. After struggling to get the fight to the ground early in the round, Grove secured a single-leg takedown, transitioned quickly to the back, and sunk in the rear-naked choke, forcing the quick tap from M’Pumbu.