Bellator 300: Usman Nurmagomedov outclasses Brent Primus to retain lightweight title
- Published
Bellator 300: Cris Cyborg beats Cat Zingano in first-round knockout win
Usman Nurmagomedov outclassed Brent Primus to retain his lightweight title at Bellator 300 in San Diego, California.
The Russian, 25, was the better striker and grappler throughout on his way to a unanimous decision win.
Nurmagomedov advances to the $1m (£817,000) Lightweight Grand Prix final.
He will face either Patricky 'Pitbull' Freire or Alexander Shaily, who fight at Bellator 301 on 17 November.
In the co-main event, Cris Cyborg stopped Cat Zingano in the first round to defend her featherweight title in a dominant performance.
Following victory, Brazil's Cyborg faced off with her next opponent - Northern Ireland's Leah McCourt,, external who beat Sara McMann earlier in the night.
In the third title fight, Liz Carmouche defended her belt against fellow American Ilima-Lei Macfarlane with a fifth-round stoppage.
Macfarlane, who was ineligible to win the title after missing weight on Friday, injured her left leg in the third round, which Carmouche took full advantage of by delivering a fight-ending leg kick with just under five minutes remaining.
Nurmagomedov remains undefeated
Like his retired cousin and former UFC champion Khabib, Nurmagomedov has never tasted defeat in MMA, winning all 18 of his fights.
Nurmagomedov's run in Bellator has been equally as impressive as his record, arguably never dropping a round during his seven fights in the promotion.
American Primus, 38, is a former champion, but Nurmagomedov said pre-fight he would make him "feel slow and old".
Primus performed admirably, but Nurmagomedov backed up his words, controlling the bout from start to finish.
The champion show all the tools at his disposal in the opening round as he landed an array of kicks while controlling distance, knees from the clinch and a takedown.
With Primus on the backfoot the pattern continued during the next two rounds with Nurmagomedov dominating the stand-up, out-striking the challenger by 90-19.
With blood oozing from Primus' mouth, Nurmagomedov took the fight to the ground in the final two rounds, signifying his dominance throughout by ending the fight in the top position.
"I want to say, 'Hi, San Diego!' This fight, I think I did a good job," said Nurmagomedov.
"This Grand Prix [final] will be a great fight. I have to challenge myself. These guys are tough. But I will be waiting at the top."
Dominant Cyborg wins again
McCourt stops McMann at Bellator 300
Cyborg, 38, widely regarded as one of the best women's mixed martial artists in history, was returning to the cage for the first time since her win over Arlene Blencowe in April 2022.
American Zingano, 41, earned the opportunity against Cyborg after winning a title eliminator against McCourt in March.
Cyborg had already secured 11 first-round finishes and it took her just over four minutes to earn her 12th.
A number of stinging right hands from Cyborg forced Zingano to look for takedowns, all of which were snuffed out by the champion.
As an increasingly wobbly Zingano shot for another, Cyborg sidestepped the attempt before launching her attack on the ground, and, following a number of unanswered hammerfists, the referee stopped the fight.
The victory extended former UFC champion Cyborg's undefeated streak in Bellator to six and this was the fifth defence of her title.
"I trained really hard for this fight. I respect Cat, her team. I feel like she has heart, but when she felt my punch, I was a little bit stronger," said Cyborg.
"The next contender, she just won, Leah [McCourt]. I'm ready for you. And I'd like to fight in Japan, this is my dream. I want to fight [there] before I retire."
Carmouche stops close friend Macfarlane
Carmouche (left) and Macfarlane are former training partners and close friends
Carmouche, 39, faced a close friend and former training partner in Hawaii's Macfarlane, who she signed up to her first MMA gym around 2014.
Macfarlane would go on to build an 11-fight undefeated streak in MMA, becoming Bellator's inaugural women's flyweight champion and defending the belt four times before losing to Juliana Velasquez in 2020.
Her build-up to the bout with Carmouche was affected by the devastating Hawaiian wildfires in August, with the 33-year-old saying she "cried every day for a month" following the tragedy.
She has subsequently raised more than £2.1m for victims of the fire and Macfarlane's walkout was accompanied by a video montage tribute to Hawaii.
The fight saw a cautious start, with Macfarlane doing most of the pressing and Carmouche looking to counter, but with neither fighter landing any significant shots.
At the start of the second round, the referee urged the fighters to engage more, bringing the pair together and telling them "we need more action than that - give the judges something to score".
Another cautious round followed before a significant moment came in the third round, when a leg kick from Carmouche caused Macfarlane to crumble to the canvas.
Macfarlane, on a now injured left leg, would fall to the floor multiple times as Carmouche directed her attacks at the leg, before the fight-ending moment in the fifth.
With Macfarlane continuing to press forward despite injury, Carmouche landed a final kick, sending her opponent down once more while wincing in pain, and causing the referee to stop the contest.
After stopping Macfarlane for the first time in her 16-fight career, Carmouche immediately checked to make sure her friend was OK, before some muted celebrations.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't difficult. She's a friend. Everything she did for this division is the reason the women are here in Bellator. Hats off Ilima, thank you. She was hurt and she didn't stop," said Carmouche.
Following the win, which was the 20th of Carmouche's 27-fight career, she called out Japan's Kana Watanabe, who beat Veta Arteaga in July.