Gegard Mousasi successfully defended the Bellator Middleweight Championship in the headlining spot of Bellator 264 on Friday night.
Mousasi finished contender John Salter mid-way through the third round after an unsuccessful takedown attempt by the challenger. Mousasi secured the top position and began attacking with right hands that continually met their target until referee Dan Miragliotta halted the fight.
Mousasi, 36, became the 185-pound champion last October when he earned a decision against Douglas Lima for the vacant championship. This was his first defense of the championship, which he previously held from May 2018 until June 2019.
With the TKO win, Mousasi’s MMA record improves to 48-7-2 and is his third consecutive victory with Bellator and is 6-1 since joining the promotion in 2017.
After the fight, it was confirmed that Mousasi will defend the championship against Austin Vanderford next. Vanderford is 10-0 and is coming off decision wins against Vinicius de Jesus and Fabian Edwards in his last two contests.
Andrey Koreshkov picked up a unanimous decision against Sabah Homasi on Friday. It was the former welterweight champion’s first fight in Bellator since October 2019 after fighting for AMC Fight Nights this past February.
Rising bantamweight fighter Raufeon Stots improved to 17-1 and 5-0 in Bellator with a decision win against Magomed Magomedov over three rounds. It was the ninth win in a row for the former NCAA Division II wrestler. Stots is the teammate of current Bellator 135-pound champion Sergio Pettis.
Bellator is back next Friday with a card from Sioux Falls, South Dakota headlined by a heavyweight fight between Sergey Kharitonov and Cheick Kongo.
Below are the full results from Bellator 264:
*Bellator Middleweight Championship: Gegard Mousasi def. John Salter by TKO at 2:07 of Round 3
*Andrey Koreshkov def. Sabah Homasi by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
*Raufeon Stots def. Magomed Magomedov by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
*Davion Franklin def. Everett Cummings by TKO at 0:21 of Round 1
*Khadzhimurat Bestaev def. Ty Gwerder by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
*Pam Sorenson def. Roberta Samad by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
*Jeffrey Glossner def. Sebastian Ruiz by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
