Gegard Mousasi Conquers John Salter, Scores Third-Round TKO in Bellator 264 Headliner

It required more of him than he anticipated, but Gegard Mousasi forced another would-be successor to bow at his feet.

Mousasi retained his undisputed Bellator MMA middleweight championship, as he dispatched John Salter with punches in the third round of their Bellator 264 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Salter (18-5, 8-2 Bellator) met his end 2:07 into Round 3, suffering his first setback in nearly three years.

Mousasi (48-7-2, 6-1 Bellator) appeared to give away the first round with a flat start but started to sink his teeth into the challenger soon enough. He pressured Salter onto his back foot in the second round, scrambled into top position after being taken down and battered the Alabama native with standing-to-ground punches, elbows and forearm strikes. Mousasi stonewalled another attempted takedown at the start of Round 3, assumed a dominant position once more and cut loose with both hands until referee Dan Miragliotta had seen enough.

Meanwhile, Andrey Koreshkov returned to the Bellator cage for the first time in nearly two years and cruised to a unanimous decision over American Top Team’s Sabah Homasi in the three-round welterweight co-main event. Koreshkov (24-4, 14-4 Bellator) carried all three scorecards with room to spare: 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26.

Homasi (15-10, 4-4 Bellator) had no answer for the Russian’s multi-pronged attack. Koreshkov zeroed in on the legs with kicks, incorporated a few spinning attacks and connected with repeated knee strikes to the head and body. The former champion executed a takedown in the second round, climbed to full mount and only extended his lead from there. Koreshkov forced his counterpart into a crouching position in Round 3, delivered a series of savage knee strikes to the body and ultimately advanced to the back to fish for a rear-naked choke. Homasi sprang a reversal with roughly two minutes remaining on the clock but found his pathways to progress blocked by the well-versed Alexander Shlemenko protégé.

Koreshkov, 30, has rattled off 11 victories across his last 14 appearances.

Elsewhere, rising Roufusport star Raufeon Stots extended his winning streak to nine fights and further established himself as a contender to watch at 135 pounds with a unanimous decision over Magomed Magomedov in a three-round bantamweight showcase. All three cageside judges scored it for Stots (17-1, 5-0 Bellator): 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.

Magomedov (18-2, 2-1 Bellator) struggled to close the athleticism gap for much of the 15-minute encounter. Stots popped him with repeated jabs, mixed in a few leg kicks, denied takedowns with an effective sprawl and outmaneuvered the former Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder in the scrambles. He threatened Magomedov with a rear-naked choke in the third round, then withstood his advances—the Russian made a pass at a Hail Mary armbar—in the waning moments to nail down another victory.

The loss was Magomedov’s first since April 15, 2017.

Finally, undefeated Jackson-Wink MMA prospect Davion Franklin kept his perfect professional record intact in woefully one-sided fashion, as he wiped out Everett Cummings with punches in the first round of their heavyweight showcase. Cummings (15-1, 2-1 Bellator) succumbed to blows 21 seconds into Round 1.

Franklin (4-0, 4-0 Bellator) hyperextended the Gladiator Challenge veteran’s knee with a side kick, pinned him to the fence with a partially blocked high kick and unleashed his heavy hands. A right hook drove Cummings to the floor in a turtled position and left him exposed to the follow-up shots that necessitated the stoppage.

The 27-year-old Franklin has finished three of his first four opponents inside one round.

In other action, Khadzhimurat Bestaev (11-4, 1-0 Bellator) took a unanimous decision from Ty Gwerder (5-3, 1-3 Bellator) in a three-round middleweight encounter, sweeping the scorecards with 29-28 nods across the board; Pam Sorenson (9-3, 1-0 Bellator) eked out a split decision—28-29, 29-28, 29-28—over Roberta Samad (5-2, 0-2 Bellator) in a three-round women’s flyweight tilt; Jonathan McNeil (1-0, 1-0 Bellator) put away Orlando Mendoza (0-1, 0-1 Bellator) with punches 3:57 into the third round of their catchweight clash at 195 pounds; and Jeffrey Glossner (3-2, 1-1 Bellator) laid claim to a unanimous decision over Sebastian Ruiz (2-4, 0-2 Bellator) in a three-round catchweight battle at 142 pounds, drawing 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks from the judges.