On Saturday night, Bellator 226 took place from the SAP Center in San Jose, California headlined by Ryan Bader defending the heavyweight championship against 44-year old Cheick Kongo.
Kongo was unbeaten in his previous eight fights and it was difficult to deny him a championship fight.
The fight was marred by an alleged eye poke by Bader that caused the fight to be stopped in the opening round. Bader was unsure if he had poked him in the eye believing that it was his nose where the fingers were placed.
Bader was winning the fight until the infraction and remains to be seen if Kongo will receive a rematch against the two-division champion.
Following the fight, there was an altercation between Bader and Quinton Jackson, who has been affiliated with Kongo throughout their careers. The two have a history with Bader defeating Jackson at UFC 144 in February 2012.
Saturday’s event also featured the first four opening round matches of the Featherweight Grand Prix.
Derek Campos, Adam Borics, Pedro Carvalho, and Emmanuel Sanchez advanced to the round of eight with victories in San Jose. The remaining opening round fights will take place later this month in Inglewood, California, including featherweight champion Patricio Freire defending his title against Juan Archuleta with the championship at stake throughout the Grand Prix.
Below are the main card results from the card:
*Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo ended in a No Contest at 3:52 of Round 1
*Derek Campos over Daniel Straus by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25) in the Featherweight Grand Prix
*Adam Borics def. Pat Curran by TKO at 4:59 of Round 2 in the Featherweight Grand Prix
*Pedro Carvalho def. Sam Sicilia by neck crank submission at 1:56 of Round 2 in the Featherweight Grand Prix
*Emmanuel Sanchez def. Tywan Claxton by triangle choke at 4:11 of Round 2 in the Featherweight Grand Prix
*Daniel Carey def. Gaston Bolanos by technical submission due to a guillotine choke at 4:19 of Round 1 in the Featherweight Grand Prix
