Patricio Freire KOs Pedro Carvalho at Bellator 252, Advances in Featherweight Grand Prix

As part of the Bellator MMA featherweight grand prix, Patricio Freire put his featherweight belt on the line against Pedro Carvalho in the main event of Bellator 252.

However, the belt never came close to changing hands as Freire made quick work of his challenger and remains the man to beat in the grand prix as a result. "Pitbull" finished Carvalho in less than a round after hurting his opponent with overhand rights. It was a beautiful right hand that ended the fight at the 2:10 mark. He'll now get to face former title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez in a rematch of their 2018 bout

The welterweight co-main event saw Yaroslav Amosov and Logan Storley test their skills against one another for 15 minutes. Both fighters were undefeated going into the bout, but it was Amosov (25-0) that kept his perfect record intact. "Dynamo" was able to outwork Storley (11-1) over the first rounds and survived a rear-naked choke scare late in Round 3. After 15 minutes, the judges delivered a split verdict with Amosov taking two of three 29-28 scorecards.

The main card opened with another five-round featherweight grand prix bout as Sanchez faced Daniel Weichel in a rematch of their Bellator 159 bout that saw Weichel take a split decision. The bodywork of Sanchez made a huge difference as a liver shot in Round 2 sat down Weichel. While Sanchez was unable to get the finish, the damage was done, and "El Matador" cruised to a unanimous decision win with scores of 48-46, 49-46 and 49-45. Both of the semi-final bouts are now set as A.J. McKee will face Darrion Caldwell on Nov. 19 and Sanchez will face Freire at a later date.

In preliminary action, Aaron Pico (7-3) blasted John de Jesus (13-9) with a huge overhand right at 4:12 of the second frame; Keri Melendez (5-0) submitted Emilee King (4-4) with a rear-naked choke just 3:02 into Round 1; Luis Muro (12-6) won a unanimous decision over Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Devin Powell (10-5), who retired after the bout; Jornel Lugo (5-0) picked up a unanimous decision victory over Schyler Sootho (4-1) with scorecards of 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in his favor; Lucas Brennan (4-0) earned a dominant unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26) over Andrew Salas (6-5); Roman Faraldo (4-0) put away Pat Casey (6-4) with an impressive flying knee at 2:30 of Round 2; and Trevor Gudde (2-1) stunned Khonry Gracie (2-2) with a big knee at 3:28 of Round 3 in the night's opening contest.