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Bellator 86: The Aftermath

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Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren (top) successfully defended his title against Season 6 tourney winner Karl Amoussou (bottom) in impressive fashion with a third-round TKO. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren (top) successfully defended his title against Season 6 tourney winner Karl Amoussou (bottom) in impressive fashion with a third-round TKO. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

The WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma played host to Bellator’s most recent effort Thursday night as the Chicago-based promotion ushered in its Season 8 Welterweight Tournament, put the 170lbs. division championship title up for grabs, and debuted a promising light heavyweight to its growing roster. UFC veteran “Killa B” Ben Saunders (15-5) and Bellator  newcomer “The Lion King” Koffi Adzitso (18-10) kicked off the Bellator 86 main card on Spike TV, followed by another welterweight tourney quarter-final match-up between former MFC Welterweight Champion and Season 5 tournament winner “The Phenom” Douglas Lima (23-5) and two-time tournament contender “The Lonely Wolf” Michail Tsarev (24-4). Former Strikeforce 205lbs. ruler “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (9-1) met Polish import and Bellator newcomer “Misiek” Przemyslaw Mysiala (16-8) in the co-main event. The marquee bout of the evening witnessed Bellator welterweight champ ”Funky” Ben Askren (11-0) make a successful third title defense against Season 6 tourney winner “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (16-5).

Ben Saunders vs. Koffi Adzitso: Both Saunders and Adzitso are highly experienced with a total of 20 fights their respective records, however it was the quality of Saunders’ experience that made the difference in this match-up. “Killa B” implemented his game plan once the opening bell sounded, getting up close and personal with Adzitso with the clinch game.  Adzitso though proved a tough customer with slick takedowns in attempt to gain a better position on the Muay Thai specialist but Saunders showed the ground game is also a highly lethal weapon in his arsenal. Saunders played it cool and battled for the submission off his back and peppered Adzitso with short punches until the fight returned to the feet. Adzitso had nothing to offer Saunders in the striking game as the ATT fighter landed almost at will with punches, kicks, and those trademark knees. The pace of “The Lion King” slowed substantially in the later rounds due to the effective striking of his foe, further allowing Saunders to cruise to a decision victory on the cards of all three judges. Saunders via Unanimous Decision

Douglas Lima vs. Michail Tsarev: Season 5 champion Lima  and Season 7 semi-finalist Tsarev wasted no time finding each other in the center of the cage but it was Lima who stayed in his element. He landed a sharp leg kick to start off the fight and Tsarev went in for the single-leg which “The Phenom” easily defended then hit a switch to land in the guard of the Russian. It was a slow start in the first round but Lima made up for lost time by pumping his jab and whipping the lead leg of Tsarev. Lima slammed Tsarev’s front leg with a kick and Tsarev crumbled to the mat at the bell. He returned limping to his corner which was the equivalent of smelling blood to Lima. The Russian came out slowly, breathing heavily, his cardio failing him as it did in the previous season tournament; Lima, though, stalked Tsarev and battered his opponent with powerful kicks to his lead calf and thigh. Upon impact Tsarev fell to the mat only to stand up more slowly each time. Lima dropped Tsarev with another leg kick and by this time referee Jason Herzog had seen enough to call a halt to the bout. Lima via TKO (Leg Kicks), Round 2, 1:44

Muhammed Lawal vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala: The debut of “King Mo” and Mysiala from the get-go looked like it wasn’t going to last long. Mysiala stayed on his bicycle while Lawal stalked with his hands ready to fire. The Polishman popped a kick but “Mo” slipped in a crisp left hook; the former Strikeforce champ caught another kick from his opponent then responded in kind by cracking Mysiala in the nose with a heavy right. Blood ran down the face of Mysiala as he tried to retreat only to be chased down by Lawal. “King Mo” hit his opponent with several jabs and right hands followed by a heavy combo that dropped Mysiala. The referee stepped in and called off the fight, giving “King Mo” his first win in the Bellator cage. Lawal via TKO (Punches), Round 1, 3:52

Ben Askren vs. Karl Amoussou: The title challenger drew first with a hard one-two combo but a missed kick brought Askren in and before he knew it, Amoussou was on his back. “Psycho” wasted no time in going for submission attempts and fired back shots as Askren went on the offense. About halfway through the round a short elbow from Askren cut Amoussou above his left eye, though it hardly fazed the Frenchman who stayed strong throughout the remainder of the round in a more dominant position. As the fight went on, however, the cut and blood loss seemed to take its toll on Amoussou who slowed in the second round as Askren’s sticky wrestling and peppering punches kept him in bad positions. The cage side physician examined Amoussou’s badly swollen eye between rounds and gave the go-ahead for the fight to continue. Amoussou came out in Round 3 with bad intentions but his efforts were in vain as he ended up on his back yet again.  Askren fired away with small punches from the mount and Amoussou tried to escape but was caught in the fly trap of the champ’s wrestling. The cage side doctor took another look at Amoussou’s eye prior to the fourth round and this time ruled that he had absorbed enough punishment and waived off the fight. Askren via TKO (Doctor Stoppage), Round 3, 5:00

Click here for the full list of Bellator 86 results.

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