Nemkov Submits Carvalho at Bellator 230; Manhoef Crushes Bahati at Bellator ‘Milan’

WOW! @team_manhoef gets the job done in the very first round, stopping @yannick_bahati with some nasty ground and pound!

What a finish here at #BellatorMilan.

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Watch live now on Channel 5 and the Bellator App. pic.twitter.com/7Og7SqkTYT

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) October 12, 2019

Bellator MMA once again touched down in Italy, as Bellator 230 took place at the Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan on Saturday.

The main event of the evening saw former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho face Vadim Nemkov in a light heavyweight affair. It took less than two rounds for Nemkov (11-2) to solve the Brazilian enigma and submit Carvalho. The Russian fighter started dictating the pace of the match in the bout’s initial exchanges, and it snowballed from there.

In a very dominant first round, Nemkov not only landed his shots on the feet, but he also inflicted some serious damage to his opponent on the ground. It was more of the same during the second stanza until Fedor Emelianenko’s protege took Carvalho’s back and ended the match with a slick rear-naked choke at the 3:56 mark.

In the co-main event of the card, Italy’s Dragos Zubco got the best of heavyweight opponent Hesdy Gerges. The two Bellator behemoths exchanged really heavy shots in the first round, but Zubco took the edge off Hesdy as time went by. In spite of his kickboxing background, Zubco secured several takedowns throughout the match and showed that he can mov on the ground, too.

Eventually, all three judges awarded Zubco (3-1) a unanimous decision victory. Gerges’ transition to MMA from kickboxing has been far from smooth, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if he considers wearing the 10-ounce gloves again.

In the first heavyweight showcase of the main card, Kirill Sidelnikov (12-6) snapped a two-bout losing streak and bested Domingos Barros via unanimous decision. In a 170-pound bout, Walter Pugliesi (7-2) edged Andrea Fusi via unanimous decision. Finally, Nicolo Solli improved his record to 3-0 after securing a first-round submission victory via triangle choke over Englishman Daniel Cassel.

In the Bellator “Milan” main event, Melvin Manhoef (32-14-1, 2 NC) smashed Yannick Bahati, finishing his foe with a barrage of heavy ground-and-pound 2:29 into the opening stanza. The 43-year-old Dutch fighter was non-committal regarding his fighting future in the aftermath.

It's over!

Fan favourite Alessio Sakara stops Canaan Grigsby in the very first round with a thunderous body shot. #BellatorMilan pic.twitter.com/MI7xvlb99o

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) October 12, 2019

Earlier, Alessio Sakara crushed Canaan Grigsby in just 23 seconds in the opening stanza at light heavyweight, and Stefano Paterno edged Ashley Reece via unanimous decision in a 170-pound bout.