Ryan Bader Cruises Against Cheick Kongo to Retain Heavyweight Crown at Bellator 280

It wasn’t the ending the Parisian crowd was anticipating for Bellator
MMA’s return to France.

Within the
Bellator 280 predominant occasion, Ryan Bader
and Cheick Kongo
battled for the heavyweight championship for the second time
following their no-contest in September 2019. Just a few moments into
the struggle, it appeared that historical past was about to repeat itself as
Bader (30-7, 1 NC; 8-2, 1 NC Bellator) landed a knee to the groin
whereas clinching with Kongo, who wanted a couple of minutes to get well.
As soon as the motion resumed, it was fairly clear that former divisional
champion Kongo (31-12-2, 13-4 Bellator) couldn’t match his
opponent’s wrestling pedigree. Because of relentless double-leg
takedowns and suffocating floor management, Bader stored his prey on
the canvas for 5 rounds, touchdown just a few strikes every now and then
to stop any sort of resistance. The Frenchman struggled to
resurge on the ft, however managed to include injury. Finally, the
cageside judges delivered 50-45, 50-45 and 50-45 scorecards for
Bader, who took residence a unanimous choice victory.

𝗔𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗲𝗿 🤯@YoelRomeroMMA
leaves it late to get the stoppage in entrance of a sold-out @Accor_Arena.#Bellator280
LIVE on @SHOsports
pic.twitter.com/NRwzhSB7Bq

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA)
May 6, 2022

Within the co-headliner, two-time
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title challenger
Yoel
Romero scored his first promotional victory by stopping
Alex
Polizzi. The 45-year-old Romero (14-6, 1-1 Bellator) landed
vital photographs on the ft out of the gate, finishing a
profitable opening body with a takedown try. Former
Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder Polizzi (10-2, 4-2
Bellator) stored the middle of the cage a lot of the contest, however
couldn’t match his adversary’s energy. Halfway via the second
body, Romero’s educated left hand knocked down Polizzi, who
resisted to see the tip of the body on wobbling legs. The Cuban
landed together with his leather-based missiles on a number of events within the third
body, ending the struggle on a excessive tone. Referee Joey
Beltran referred to as the stoppage following a vicious uppercut because the
official time indicated one second earlier than the tip.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙍𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨
🌪@da_MONSOON
picks up his 6️⃣th straight win.#Bellator280
LIVE on @SHOsports
pic.twitter.com/jYx8b1htUw

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA)
May 6, 2022

Elsewhere, 155-pounder Davy Gallon
(21-7-2, 3-0 Bellator) crushed Benjamin
Brander (13-9, 0-2 Bellator) with punches from the crucifix
place on the 3:18 mark of Spherical 2; Lorenz
Larkin (24-7, 1NC; 6-2 Bellator) outclassed short-notice
substitute Kyle
Stewart (15-6, 0-1 Bellator) with knees and punches, ending the
contest with solely 16 seconds left within the opening stanza of their
185-pound conflict;
Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki middleweight alum Gregory
Babene (22-11, 1NC; 4-0 Bellator) smashed Mike
Shipman (14-4, 5-3 Bellator) with hefty punches at 2:11 into
Spherical 1.

Within the featured struggle on the preliminary card, Piotr
Niedzielski (17-4, 1-0 Bellator) outpointed former 145-pound
championship contender Pedro
Carvalho (12-6, 5-3 Bellator) by way of cut up choice (29-28, 29-28,
28-29); UFC alum Thibault
Gouti (16-5, 1-0 Bellator) scored a profitable promotional
debut by upending Lewis Long
(19-7, 3-2 Bellator) on all scorecards (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at
welterweight; Jordan
Barton (7-2-1, 1-1 Bellator) edged Fabacary
Diatta (8-1, 2-1 Bellator) due to a slender cut up choice
(29-28, 29-28, 28-29) in a 145-pound conflict; former
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Soren Bak
(15-1, 3-0 Bellator) took residence a unanimous choice over Charlie
Leary (17-13-1, 3-4 Bellator) of their 160-pound catchweight
affair, incomes a stunning 30-27 scorecard, plus 29-28, 29-28
nods from the judges; Yves Landu
(17-9, 2-1 Bellator) smashed fellow 155-pounder Gavin
Hughes (10-3, 1-2 Bellator) with a collection of knees adopted by
a knee to the liver 3:01 into the opening stanza; Lucie
Bertaud (4-3, 2-0 Bellator) outpointed Katarzyna
Sadura (5-5, 1-1 Bellator) on all three scorecards (30-27,
30-27, 29-28) of their girls’s flyweight tilt; 185-pounder Youcef
Ouabbas (3-0, 1-0 Bellator) stopped Matthieu
Letho Duclos (2-2, 0-1 Bellator) with punches on the 4:17 mark
within the first interval; within the 170-pound opener, Bourama
Camara (5-1, 1-0 Bellator) knocked out Victor
de Lima Verchere (5-2, 0-1 Bellator) at 3:06 of Spherical 1.