On Friday, Oct. 21, Bellator MMA hosted its 162nd event from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.
In the night’s main event, former middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko returned to the Bellator cage to take on UFC veteran Kendall Grove. The 32-year-old Shlemenko last competed for the promotion in February of 2015, where he knocked out striking specialist Melvin Manhoef by spinning backfist. However, the win was later changed to a no-contest due to elevated levels of testosterone. Grove, meanwhile, had scored back-to-back stoppage wins over Joey Beltran and Francisco France since falling short in his quest for Bellator gold last May.
The action kicked off on Friday at 7 p.m. ET with a live preliminary card stream on Combat Press. The night’s main card aired live on Spike TV beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Bobby Lashley def. Josh Appelt by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 2, 1:43
Hisaki Kato def. A.J. Matthews by TKO (strikes). Round 1, 4:58
Goiti Yamauchi def. Ryan Couture by submission (armbar). Round 1, 1:01
Ricky Rainey def. Gilbert Smith by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Steve Garcia def. Ronnie Lawrence by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Chase Gormley def. Bobby Brents by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Julia Budd def. Arlene Blencowe by majority decision (29-29, 30-27, 29-27)
Virgil Zwicker def. Dan Charles by TKO (strikes). Round 2, 4:31
Wade Johnson def. Tyler Hill by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 3, 3:35
James Wallace def. Jonathan Burdine by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 2, 3:33
Eryk Anders def. Brian White by TKO (strikes). Round 1, 0:23
Jaleel Willis def. Omar Johnson by unanimous decision
Grady Hurley def. Chad Cook. Round 1, 2:29
Mike Wessell def. Frank Tate by unanimous decision