Double hitting advantage, Khabib's support and no fight: Usman Nurmagomedov successfully debuted at Bellator

In 2021, Bellator resumed activity more than ever late.

Fans had to wait until early April to see the organization's first tournament, despite the fact that for nine years, the promotion has never left fans without a show in the first two months of the year.

The last time Scott Cocker and company extended their vacation until spring was in 2012 - the first event fell on March 9 and was not the most eventful, even despite the fight for the featherweight title between Pat Curren and Joe Warren.

It is noteworthy that this time the battle for the belt was also at the head of the card, but the interest in it was due to a number of other factors.

In particular, the debut of Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin Usman, as well as the performance of the former ACB champion Magomed Magomedov.

According to the original plans, a total of four Russians were to take part in Bellator 255.

In addition to the aforementioned fighters, Khalid Murtazaliev and Mukhamed Berkhamov planned to perform in Ancasville, but in the end only the first of them remained.

Former ACB welterweight champion failed the weigh-in, as a result of which his duel with Herman Terrado was canceled.

The advantage was solid, but not colossal (1.3 kilograms), but the leadership was adamant.

Thus, the native of Baksan was unable to debut in the American promotion for the third time.

Previously, his fights with John Palaiologos and Jordan Maine were thwarted.

True, in these cases, the fault lay with the opponents.

As a result, the first of the domestic fighters to enter the cage was Murtazaliev, for whom the fight with Fabio Aguiar was the first in 30 months.

And at times there was a lack of competitive practice in his actions: Khalid stagnated, did not always react in a timely manner to the opponent's attacks, and at the beginning of the battle he almost earned a penalty point.

The Brazilian immediately tried to transfer the counterpart to the ground, and he twice grabbed the net, for which he received a suggestion from the referee.

As for the rest, Murtazaliev's advantage was quite significant.

In the stand, he was noticeably superior to Aguayar: he interrupted on his hands, competently and in a timely manner connected the kicks, which became a real surprise for the Brazilian.

And in the second and third rounds he demonstrated that he is not inferior to the holder of the black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in wrestling and grappling.

In total, Khalid spent three takedowns and did not allow Fabio to do anything with him on the canvas.

Particularly indicative was the episode in the final five minutes, when the Russian effectively moved from a position from below to a dominant position.

This allowed Murtazaliev to win and interrupt Aguayar's unbeaten streak of nine fights.

All three judges gave preference to the Russian, and only one of them saw the superiority of the Brazilian in at least one of the rounds.

For Khalid, this success was the fourth in a row and the first - under the auspices of Bellator.

Unlike Murtazaliev, for Magomedov, the battle with CJ Hamilton was the second after joining the American organization.

And if in the first he had to spend all the designated 15 minutes in the cage, then this time less than six and a half was enough.

The former opponent of Petr Yan once again proved that he is one of the strongest wrestling specialists in the bantamweight division and did not leave the American a chance.

Already in the first round, he hit the opponent into the canvas with an amplitude throw and began to finish off, but he miraculously endured the gong.

Moreover, the referee had every right to stop the duel, but he showed hesitation.

Coming to the second segment, Hamilton looked confused, and a series of a turntable on the body and a knee jump in a jump to the head only increased his doubts about his own strength.

The lack of chances for success was also confirmed by the statistics on accurate hits, which spoke of Magomedov's undivided domination.

At the time of the next transfer to the ground, the score was 40: 3 in favor of the Russian.

On the ground, Hamilton missed a few more heavy elbow strikes to the head and finally lost both his vigilance and the desire to continue the fight.

CJ still managed to get to his feet, but allowed Magomed to jump onto his back and carry out a rear naked choke.

The Russian instantly closed the lock on the opponent's neck and collapsed with him onto the canvas.

The opponent had no choice but to knock as a sign of surrender.

Magomedov won the fifth fight in a row and made an application to get into the top 3 divisions.

In anticipation of this tournament, he was ranked fifth in the bantamweight rankings.

The debut of Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator could be safely considered one of the main events of the tournament.

The cousin of the former UFC lightweight champion has already gained popularity, and not only thanks to the achievements of his relative, but also to his own successes.

On the eve of the tournament, he boasted a streak of 11 victories (ten of which were early), as well as the title of "most gifted fighter" according to the head of the American Kickboxing Academy Javier Mendes and former mentor Khabib.

Nurmagomedov began to justify the advances given to him already in the first round.

In the stand, he was much stronger than Mike Hamel, which very quickly found its reflection on the body and face of the athlete.

Already in the course of the first five minutes, noticeable redness formed on his body, and his nose was broken.

Usman constantly worked ahead of the curve in boxing, unexpectedly kicked his body and, in general, looked utterly stronger than the American.

Perhaps the key to this was the decision to work in a left-handed stance - a logical step in a fight with a left-hander.

Over time, Hamel's condition became more and more difficult.

The nose began to bleed even more, and constant pressure and work as the first number did not bring success.

The American, inferior in anthropometry, often stagnated in front of the Russian and became an easy target.

In desperation, Mike tried several times to get to his feet, but attempts to transfer Khabib Nurmagomedov's brother to the stalls were doomed to failure.

🦵💥 @Nmgmdv showed up with some serious kicks in round 1️⃣ of his #Bellator debut tonight.

Round 2️⃣ is LIVE NOW on @SHOSports! ⤵️

👀 https://t.co/UBTMaqUAiS#MMA#Bellator255#BellatorOnShowtimepic.twitter.com/I334oWA9uB

- BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 3, 2021

After three rounds, Usman's victory was unlikely to be in doubt.

In terms of the number of accurate hits, he twice surpassed his counterpart (73:36), and in terms of the damage caused, the difference was absolutely colossal.

And this is taking into account the fact that Nurmagomedov did not turn to wrestling and spent all 15 minutes in a rack.

It became a little alarming only in the course of the final round, when the Russian got a little tired.

At a certain point, he began to breathe heavily, which Hamel noticed.

True, I could not take advantage of this.

Surprisingly, one of the judges still gave preference to the American in one of the rounds.

But this was not enough for overall success.

Usman Nurmagomedov won his 12th fight in a row and began his career in the United States with a victory.

Apparently, Khabib and Umar, who were on the show as seconds, were pleased with his brother's performance.

As for the main battle of the evening, it turned out to be fleeting.

Patricio Pitbull Freire clearly demonstrated why he takes first place in the pound-for-pound Bellator ranking and not only confidently held the fifth defense of the featherweight title, but also reached the Grand Prix final.

Emmanuel Sanchez looked good in the first three minutes, but in one of the episodes he imprudently went on the attack, got a counter hook in the jaw and fell to the floor.

The Brazilian first struck several blows, and then took the American to the guillotine.

Referee Anderson did not immediately realize that the challenger had lost consciousness, which caused discontent on the part of the champion.

Among other things, Bellator 255 will be remembered for the early victory of No. 6 heavyweight Tyrell Fortune over Jack May and the defeat of Niman Gracie by Jason Jackson.

The representative of the legendary family of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu masters spent all 15 minutes in the cage and lost by unanimous decision.

In general, eight duels ended ahead of schedule at once, and one of the most spectacular blows was noted by Mandel Nallo.

The Canadian sent Ricardo Seixas to the floor with a superman punch, a jumping fist.