Derek Campos and Brandon Girtz have gone head to head thrice in their respective careers.
The trilogy fight, however, stands alone. The exciting, bloody, back-and-forth nature of their third meeting landed Campos vs. Girtz as a ‘2017 Fight of the Year’ contender.
At Bellator 181 in July 2017, Campos and Girtz threw down for 10 minutes. Both fighters were hurt during the frenetic brawl, to the delight of the Thackerville, Okla. crowd.
In between the second and third rounds, the cage-side physician waived off the contest due to a deep gash on Girtz’s forehead. Campos was declared the winner.
The nasty gash, which roughly resembled Michael Jordan’s ‘Jumpman,’ went viral and brought even more eyes to an already popular replay. Campos’ victory gave him the lead in the lifetime series, with a two wins to one loss advantage over Girtz.
On Dec. 21, Campos returns to action at Bellator 236. In the second round of the Bellator featherweight grand prix, Campos (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA) will face off with undefeated rising star A.J. McKee (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA).
Ahead of Campos’ upcoming fight, relive his two-round battle with Gritz in the video above.
Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN after prelims on MMA Junkie.
Bellator 236 free fight: Derek Campos, Brandon Girtz clash in 2017 'Fight of the Year' candidate