Bellator Dublin recap as Johnny Eblen defends title in front of ...
Johnny Eblen retained his Bellator title in front of a packed crowd at the 3Arena in a busy night in the Dublin venue.
Fighting Fabian Edwards, the American was booed when in the ring with Edwards the favourite among the Irish crowd but it was dominant performance from the champion as he finished the fight early in the second round.
Mads Burnell was a unanimous decision winners in the co-main event while Sinead Kavanagh suffered a split decision loss to the undefeated Sara Collins.
SBG fighter Pedro Carvalho was also defeated in his fight while Levan Chokheli came out on top in his bout.
Peter Queally had the crowd rocking in his entrance but it was all short lived when his prelim bout ended as a no contest following an unintentional kick to the head when don't he ground.
Drogheda man Ciaran Clarke continued his promising start to his professional career with a dominant win while Donegal fighter Darragh Kelly improved his record to 5-0 with a victory over Jelle Zeegers.
Preliminary Card
Lightweight Bout: Peter Queally vs. Daniele Miceli - No Contest
Lightweight Bout: Jay-Jay Wilson def. Mansour Barnaoui
Middleweight Bout: Gregory Babene def.Charlie Ward
140 lbs Contract Weight Bout:: Ciaran Clarke def. Przemysław Górny
Welterweight Bout: Luca Poclit def. Roman Faraldo
Featherweight Bout: Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Piotr Niedzielksi
Featherweight Bout:Darragh Kelly def. Jelle Zeegers
Featherweight Bout: Otto Rodrigues def.Brian Moore
Lightweight Bout: Attila Korkmaz def. Davy Gallon
Featherweight Bout: Asael Adjoudj def. Ibrahim Al-Faqih Hassan
Featherweight Bout: Josh O’Connor def. Kenny Mokhonoana
Welterweight Bout: Romain Debienne def. Nicolo Solli
Heavyweight Bout: Sergei Bilostennyi def.. Kasim Aras
Lightweight Bout: Mark Ewen def. Noah Gugnon
Strawweight Bout: Mackenzie Stiller def. Chiara Penco
Main Card
Middleweight World Championship: Johnny Eblen def. Fabian Edwards
Featherweight Bout:Aaron Pico def. Pedro Carvalho
Featherweight Bout:Sara Collins def. Sinead Kavanagh
Featherweight Bout:Mads Burnell def. Daniel Weichel
Welterweight Bout:Levan Chokheli def. Sabah Homasi
23:34Darragh Culhane
@JohnnyEblen is #AndStill world middleweight champion #Bellator299 | #BlackhawkTire pic.twitter.com/TXSASvkJHW
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 23, 202323:27Darragh Culhane
23:17Darragh Culhane
Eblen drops Edwards and pounds him on the ground, how long will it last? It's all over!!! Johnny Ebeln is STILL your champion. There's afters in the ring and it's all spilling over as he eyes up Edwards' corner but security intervenes
23:15Darragh Culhane
We are underway for Round Three
23:14Darragh Culhane
Eblen has the biggest moment of the fight and knocks Edwards to the ground, he goes for the takedown and both do well in the ensuing exchange.
Both Edwards and Eblen get good strikes away. Ebeln gets a big takedown. Ebeln does sport a cut on his face and things are getting heated in here.
23:09Darragh Culhane
We are underway for round two
23:08Darragh Culhane
A very impressive opening couple of minutes from the champion as he counters Edwards' ability to take over the centre of the ring by hitting nasty leg kicks. Eblen convincingly blocks some strike attempts but his takedown attempt is blocked. It s a real fight of kicks early on and Edwards gets a nice strike to finish the round.
23:02Darragh Culhane
We are underway for the main event!
23:01Darragh Culhane
Take Me Home, Country Roads is belted out by the crowd as Johnny Eblen comes to the ring.
But the reception Fabian Edwards gets is unbelievable. Johnny Eblen is booed and it's clear who the crowd wants to win
22:53Darragh Culhane
The lights go out and it is TIME for the main event
22:48Darragh Culhane
We are just waiting for the main event.
Johnny 'Pressure' Eblen defends his title against Fabian Edwards.
One of the biggest cheers of the night comes when the announcer says Ireland has beaten South Africa in the rugby
22:40Darragh Culhane
An absolute clinic from Aaron Pico there. Three big take downs and then absolutely rocks Pedro Carvalho, the Dublin-based fighter tries his best to stay in it but it's over soon after.
Carvalho tries to get back to his feet but struggles and is covered in blood.
22:36Darragh Culhane
We are underway in the co-main event!
22:33Darragh Culhane
Time for the co-main event and it's Pedro Carvalho v Aaron Pico up next
22:30Darragh Culhane
22:26Darragh Culhane
The crowd don't like that decision. Sara Collins gets the split decision win. Two judged called it 29-28 in her favour while one scored it 29-28 in favour of Kavanagh. It was a real coin toss
22:23Darragh Culhane
Sara Collins starts off well and probably feels she has to. She catches Kavanagh with a lovely strike. It's not a fight that ever truly got going but both fighters have stayed on their feet for the duration. Hard to call who won this one but a very tame fight.
22:18Darragh Culhane
We are underway for the final round
22:17Darragh Culhane
Sara Collins brings the fight a little but more this time but the best strike comes from Kavanagh. It's not a fight full of clean striking that is for sure and hard to call who won that round.
22:12Darragh Culhane
We are underway for Round Two
22:11Darragh Culhane
A round of two fighters very much feeling each other out. Sinead Kavanagh may have got the better of her Australian opponent but not by much
22:05Darragh Culhane
Sinead Kavanagh gets the best ovation of the night and we are ready to go here
22:00Darragh Culhane
Hometown favourite Sinead Kavanagh is up next but faces a tough task against the 4-0 Sara Collins
21:59Darragh Culhane
21:57Darragh Culhane
This fight! @danielweichel and @Burnellmma both landing shots.#Bellator299 LIVE on @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/trVTlyVIAO
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 23, 202321:51Darragh Culhane
Mads Burnell wins!! The Las Vegas fighter is winner via unanimous decision. It was a slow start but he really asserted his dominance later on in the fight
21:49Darragh Culhane
Much of the same from the two fights, a real coin toss early on in this final round. Burnell brings his opponent to the ground. Burnell is using all of his weight in this final stage. We'll see what the judges say
21:43Darragh Culhane
We are underway for the final round
21:42Darragh Culhane
Mads Burnell knows round two needs to be better and acts the aggressor early and often. The pair exchange hits but Burnell definitely getting the better of the exchanges in the second round but Weichel responds brilliantly.
This is a real dog fight and bother fighters are playing their part. As the round ends Burnell really goes forward looking for a blow but gets countered. Brilliant round
