Bellator was back in Israel this week, and the headliner may have seen the emergence of a new heavyweight threat.
In the Bellator 234 main event, Linton Vassell (20-8 MMA, 8-5 BMMA) dominated Sergei Kharitonov (30-8 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) for a second-round TKO win. A win for Kharitonov may have gotten him a shot at heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, but now he’s back to the drawing board – and Vassell, making his return to the division, showed he may be a force to be reckoned with.
The card also featured a pair of Israelis fighting on their home soil. The 46-year-old Haim Gozali (12-6 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) picked up a first-round heel hook submission against Artur Pronin (16-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in his retirement fight. After laying his gloves down, he cornered his 18-year-old son Aviv Gozali (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) to another first-round submission, an anaconda choke stoppage of Zaka Fatullazade (14-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).
Also on the card, Austin Vanderford (9-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) stayed unbeaten with a decision win over Grachik Bozinyan (10-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). And Sidney Outlaw (14-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) outworked Roger Huerta (24-12-1 MMA, 1-5 BMMA) for a decision win.
Check out the video highlights for all five fights on the main card above.
Bellator 234 took place at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel, and aired on Paramount/DAZN on Friday via tape delay.
Complete Bellator 234 results included:
- Linton Vassell def. Sergei Kharitonov via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:15
- Sidney Outlaw def. Roger Huerta via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Aviv Gozali def. Zaka Fatullazade via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 1, 0:56
- Haim Gozali def. Artur Pronin via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 4:12
- Austin Vanderford def. Grachik Bozinyan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Sinead Kavanagh def. Olga Rubin via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:37
- Robson Gracie Jr. def. Amir Bashir via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:39
- Adam Keresh def. Vladimir Fedin via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:29
- Simon Smotritsky def. Illia Hladkii via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:10
- Vuqar Keramov def. Gustavo Wurlitzer via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:29
- Kirill Medvedovsky def. Akhmed Al Farazha via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 0:46
- Raz Bring def. Naziri Daniliuk via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
- Mihail Dulgher def. Ofir Leibel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ron Becker def. Artem Kazartsev via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:57
- Ben Cohen def. Maksym Tkachuk via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:17
- Eli Aronov def. Sari Hleihil via split decision (30-26, 27-28, 30-26)
- Itay Lipszyc def. Yizhak Yakobov via submission (ankle lock) – Round 1, 2:51
- Noam Voldman def. Nisim Rozalis via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
- Itay Tratner vs. Elias Mamadov declared a split draw declared a split draw (28-27, 28-29, 28-28)
- Tomer Maslis def. David Malka via TKO (exhaustion) – Round 3, 1:32
Bellator 234 video highlights with Vassell's dominance, father-son Gozali submissions