Gegard Mousasi wins his 10th fight in his last 11 by defeating Douglas Lima before paying respect to his opponent: "I cruised to the victory but you can never count out the guy. He is a phenomenal fighter." Former WWE champion and current AEW star Jake Hager wins brutal battle in cage
Friday 30 October 2020 09:04, UK
Gegard Mousasi regained his Bellator middleweight title by outpointing Douglas Lima and end his hopes of becoming a two-division champion.
Mousasi (47-7-2) relied on his size and control to defeat the current welterweight champion Lima (32-8) in the main event of Bellator 250 inside the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Mousasi claimed the vacant title he lost by majority decision to Rafael Lovato Jr in 2019 by taking home the judges scores of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46 again.
"I didn't want to waste too much energy and I felt that I was winning the rounds and fighting at a good pace to pressure him backwards," Mousasi said.
"I was scoring the rounds and I thought this was maybe good to secure the last round with a takedown. The takedowns secured the round and I got the win."
Mousasi landed more punches and repeatedly backed up his opponent to the cage to win his 10th fight in his last 11, including his final five with UFC before joining Bellator in 2017.
"The last round, he hit me a couple times and I had to show a good poker face but he really hurt me," Mousasi said.
"I felt like Douglas Lima was in his prime and he even looked big. He didn't look like a welterweight but I thought I had the technical advantage. I could mix in the takedowns but he was good enough that I couldn't put him away. Another guy I probably would have finished. He was game, he was experienced and he paces himself.
"I didn't take any unnecessary risks because when we were close, he was very wild with his hooks and one punch could finish it.
"I was scoring with the jab and I knew I had four rounds at least. I cruised to the victory but you can never count out the guy. He is a phenomenal fighter."
Also, standout featherweight Henry Corrales got back to the win column with a split decision over Brandon Girtz, while Dalton Rosta continued to pick up momentum in the middleweight division as he stayed perfect by controlling the action on the feet and on the ground to defeat Ty Gwerder by unanimous decision.
Former WWE champion and current AEW star Jake Hager faced over three gruelling rounds with former Pittsburgh Steeler Brandon Calton before judges awarded him a split decision for his third Bellator win.
Gegard Mousasi (47-7-2) bt Douglas Lima (32-8) via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Henry Corrales (18-5) bt Brandon Girtz (16-10) via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 30-27)
Dalton Rosta (4-0) bt Ty Gwerder (5-2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jake Hager (3-0, 1 NC) bt Brandon Calton (2-1) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Sabah Homasi (14-8) bt Bobby Voelker (33-14) via knockout (punches) at :20 of round two
Johnny Eblen (7-0) bt Taylor Johnson (6-2) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Adam Borics (15-1) bt Erick Sanchez (9-6) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Cody Law (1-0) bt Orlando Ortega (0-1) via submission (D'Arce Choke) at 2:41 of round one
