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Bellator MMA returned to the “Emerald Isle” this weekend with Bellator 291 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
In the main event, welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov made his return to MMA after taking time on the front lines for the Ukrainian forces to defend his hometown of Irpin against the Russian invasion. After fighting off the Russians and helping his countrymen recapture Irpin from Russian occupation, Amosov returned to the cage for a title unification bout against interim champion Logan Storley, a four-time Division I All-American wrestler at Minnesota.
When it was all said and done, Amosov was able to dominate Storley for five rounds and unified the welterweight title.
“I feel very good because I waited for this for a long time. I train hard training, and I feel a lot of motivation and responsibility. Now, I relax. I’ll relax after the fight, and I’m happy because I think I gave my country a good day. It’s the first time I’ve had big support in the cage. In America, I’ve had support, but not like today,” Amosov said after the fight. “Many Ukrainian flags, many Ukrainian people. My uncle, my friends; I see many people. It was a big support, and it gave me very good energy.
“Thank you for my country, thank you for my army and the fans. It was for my country. Today I think it is a very good day for my country. To hold two gold belts… Of course [I think I’m the best welterweight in the world]. I am here. If a UFC champion wants to fight, come to BELLATOR. Scott Coker will give the contract, and we’ll make the fight.”
Lucas Noons/Bellator MMA
In the co-main event. No. 3-ranked Pedro Carvalho faced off against No. 5 Jeremy Kennedy in an important featherweight showdown. Kennedy was able to get the upper hand and worked his way to a unanimous decision win. For Kennedy, he believes the win should set him up for a title shot.
“I believe so, I don’t know who else is there for me to fight. Three wins in a row. Sanchez, Pico, and Carvalho and they have all been dominant victories. I’ve been all around the world; it’s a cool way to see the world. In a perfect world, I get to fight somewhere in the United States, but I’d fight ‘Pitbull’ in a WalMart,” Kennedy said.
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“I’m coming. I’ve been on his heels the whole time. When I was fighting Borics and I was fighting Pico, I was like: I can’t wait to get the opportunity to fight him. Now there’s talk of him going down to 135; he’s probably calling his nutritionist right now because he doesn’t want this fight. Let’s do it. We can go ASAP. I’ll fight him in any corner of the world, in any timeframe.”
If you missed out on the action, we have you covered.
A full look at the Bellator 291: Amosov vs. Storley 2 results can be seen below.
Bellator 291 Results
- Yaroslav Amosov def. Logan Storley via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) – to defend welterweight title
- Jeremy Kennedy def. Pedro Carvalho via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bryce Logan def. Peter Queally via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:32
- Sinead Kavanagh def. Janay Harding via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ciaran Clarke def. Leonardo Sinis via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Karl Moore def. Maciej Rozanski via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mike Shipman def. Charlie Ward via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Oleg Popov def. Gokhan Saricam via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Norbert Novenyi Jr. def. Andy Manzolo via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 3:13
- Brian Moore def. Luca Iovine via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Richie Smullen def. Piotr Niedzielski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Darragh Kelly def. Dorval Jordan via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:58
- Asael Adjoudj def. Liam McCracken via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Rafael Hudson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:40
- Jena Bishop def. Elina Kallionidou via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Kenny Mokhonoana def. Craig McIntosh via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:13
- Dmytrii Hrytsenko def. Daniele Scatizzi via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Steven Hill def. Joel Kouadja via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:03
