The penultimate Bellator event of 2022 went down Saturday with Bellator 288 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
With two title fights on the card, one champ defended while another belt changed hands.
Vadim Nemkov (15-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) earned a unanimous decision win over Corey Anderson (16-5 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) to defend light heavyweight gold in the main event, while Usman Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) outpointed Patricky Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) on the scorecards to claim the lightweight strap.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 288.
Event stats
Betting favorites went 10-3 on the card.
Betting favorites fell to 8-8 in Bellator main events this year.
Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:17:00.
Vadim Nemkov def. Corey Anderson
Nemkov’s nine-fight Bellator unbeaten streak is the longest active streak in the company.
Nemkov’s nine-fight Bellator unbeaten streak at light heavyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Usman Nurmagomedov def. Patricky Freire
Nurmagomedov became the first Dagestani champion in Bellator history.
Nurmagomedov’s four-fight Bellator winning streak at lightweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Nurmagomedov has earned two of his five Bellator victories by decision.
Freire has suffered seven of his 11 career losses by decision.
Timur Khizriev def. Daniel Weichel
Timur Khizriev (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) has earned eight of his 12 career victories by decision.
Daniel Weichel (42-14 MMA, 11-6 BMMA) fell to 3-3 since he returned to the Bellator featherweight division in September 2019.
Daniel James def. Tyrell Fortune
Daniel James (14-6-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage.
James has earned both of his Bellator victories by knockout
Tyrell Fortune (12-3 MMA, 12-3 BMMA) has suffered two of his three career losses by stoppage.
Fortune has suffered both of his career stoppage losses by knockout.
Levan Chokheli def. Roman Faraldo
Levan Chokheli (11-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) has earned both of his Bellator victories by decision.
Roman Faraldo (8-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) had his eight-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Sullivan Cauley def. Jay Radick
Sullivan Cauley’s (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) five-fight Bellator winning streak at light heavyweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Cauley’s five stoppage victories in Bellator light heavyweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Liam McGeary.
Cauley’s five knockout victories in Bellator light heavyweight competition are tied with McGeary and Muhammed Lawal for most in divisional history.
Cauley has earned all five of his career victories by first-round knockout.
Cauley’s five-fight first-round knockout streak in Bellator competition is the longest active streak in the company.
Jordan Newman def. Jayden Taulker
Jordan Newman (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) five-fight Bellator winning streak at middleweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Johnny Eblen (eight) and Anatoly Tokov (seven).
