Bellator 243 results: Timothy Johnson finishes Matt Mitrione in dominant first round

Timothy Johnson’s Bellator career is picking up steam.

The veteran heavyweight got his second straight Bellator finish Friday night stopping Matt Mitrione in their co-main event contest at Bellator 243.

Johnson (14-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) had a dominant showing, stopping Mitrione (13-8 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) at the 3:14 mark of round one in Uncasville, Conn.

Johnson got Mitrione down to the canvas seconds into the fight. Watching live, it looked like a trip or loss of balance on Mitrione’s part led the fight to the ground. However, the replay made clear there was a clash of heads. It’s unknown the extent of its effect, but Mitrione immediately protested to the referee.

Either way, Johnson didn’t take his foot off the pedal once he was on top. He got side control and began landing ground-and-pound on Mitrione. The fight continued for a couple of minutes before Johnson increased the volume of strikes, which forced referee to call the fight.

With this result, Johnson is now on a two-fight winning streak, having knocked out previously unbeaten prospect Tyrell Fortune in his last outing. Meanwhile, Mitrione is 0-3 in his past three bouts. Mitrione last victory came against Roy Nelson in February 2018.

The heavyweight bout was the Bellator 243 co-main event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 243 results include:

• Timothy Johnson def. Matt Mitrione via TKO (punches) — Round 1, 3:14

• Myles Jury def. Georgi Karakhanyan via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)

• Sabah Homasi def. Curtis Millender via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Adam Borics def. Mike Hamel via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Cris Lencioni def. A.J. Agazarm via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
• Valerie Loureda def. Tara Graff via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 5:00
• Grant Neal def. Hamza Salim via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-24)
• Charlie Campbell def. Nainoa Dung via TKO (leg kicks) — Round 2, 1:42
• Dalton Rosta def. Mark Gardner via TKO (doctor stoppage) — Round 1, 5:00