Usman Nurmagomedov, Cris Cyborg & Liz Carmouche Retain Titles at Bellator 300

The champ @Usmannmgdv gets the takedown! #Bellator300 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/WzEu18YC3h

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 8, 2023

Bellator MMA lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov believes he’s the best in the world and he made a strong case for it after picking apart former champion Brent Primus in the Bellator 300 main event at Perchanga Arena in San Diego, California.

Primus had no answers for Nurmagomedov (18-0) throughout the fight. Coming off the most well-rounded win of his career over Mansour Barnaoui in the lightweight grand prix quarterfinals, Primus thought he could upset the champ by getting inside and making it an ugly contest.

Unfortunately for Primus (12-4), the champ would have none of it. Nurmagomedov kept Primus at bay on the outside with long body kicks and straight right hands down the pipe. He roughed him up at midrange with knees and hooks, and dominated him on the inside with pinpoint accurate elbows. When the fight went to the ground, Nurmagomedov kept top pressure and drained the clock while cautiously wrestling a picking shots on the ground.

Fans grew restless and misunderstood Nurmangomedov’s masterful performance. Primus showed toughness and didn’t stop looking for a path to victory. The champ was simply too good and had every avenue blocked. Nurmagomedov won every round (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) and took little damage in the fight.

With the win, Nurmagomedov advanced to the lightweight grand prix finale and will await the winner of the Alexander Shabliy-Patricky Freire semi-final next month.

Cris Cyborg and Cat Zingano finally put their war of words to rest to battle for the women’s featherweight title and Cyborg spent little time silencing the challenger. Cyborg (27-2) looked like her prime self as she easily walked down Zingano and stopped the challenger 4:01 into the first round.

Zingano (14-5) entered the fight riding the high of a four-fight win streak, but she was unable to employ her world-renowned wrestling on the champ. Cyborg stuffed multiple takedowns and forced Zingano to trade against her heavy hands. With Zingano dazed on her feet, the challenger attempted one more desperate takedown before she was ultimately stuffed and finished with a flurry of punches on the ground.

Cyborg hasn’t lost a fight in nearly five years but is still hungry for the top contenders. In her next defense, Cyborg plans to fight Leah McCourt, who impressed earlier in the night with an upset first-round technical knockout over Sara McMann.

Liz Carmouche put her women’s flyweight title on the line against friend and former training partner Ilima-Lei Macfarlane. Macfarlane missed weight so she was ineligible to win the crown but that wouldn’t matter. Carmouche (20-7) notched her seventh straight win and third defense with a fifth-round TKO.

The respect between the two former sparring partners was clear early. Carmouche and Macfarlane spent most of the first two rounds feeling each other out before Macfarlane’s lead leg became compromised. “The Ilmanator” could barely stand, let alone fight, but continued to withstand leg kicks. Carmouche mercifully backed off and banked rounds but ultimately closed the show with a final fight-ending leg kick 17 seconds into the fifth round.

Following the bout, Carmouche gave credit to Macfaralane and admitted that it was tough beating on a friend. That said, Carmouche is already looking ahead to her next defense as she called out Tokoyo’s Kana Watanbe to a showdown in Japan.

In a fun back-and-forth fight between undefeated featherweights, Bobby Seronio III decisioned Alberto Garcia (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Despite the lopsided cards, Garcia gave Seronio all he could handle while walking through head snapping shots all night.

Seronio dropped Garica early and knocked out his mouthpiece in round 3, but he couldn’t put him away or get Garcia off his back for most of the fight. Each round was close, but Seronio’s big moments stuck with the judges.

Related » Bellator 300 Round-by-Round Scoring

McCourt bounced back from her loss to Zingano earlier this year with an impressive first-round finish over No. 2 McMann. McMann tried hard early to get the fight to the ground but regretted that wish after taking an accidental thumb to the eye. McCourt took advantage of a superior position while McMann was flustered and dropped a cluster of elbows and punches until referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight 4:30 into the first round.

Sergio Cossio may be the happiest Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt on the planet right now. After being rag-dolled on the mat by the undefeated lightweight Jesse Roberts throughout the first two rounds, Cossio put himself in the running for comeback of the year after catching Roberts in a slick triangle choke with 55 seconds left in the fight. Cossio fought off submission attempts all night but found life after clipping Roberts with hard shots all throughout the third. Figuring that he’d be safe back on the ground Roberts shot and took the fight back to the mat, but Cossio was ready to take advantage for his eighth straight win.

Henry Corrales and Kai Kamaka III both entered their featherweight clash with winning streaks and their fight could’ve been decided by a coin flip. Corrales pushed the pace and threw more blows but Kamaka scored well with clean shots. Both fighters had their moments but Kamaka was given the nod by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27).

Slim Trabelsi (6-0) looked to be on his way to an impressive victory in his Bellator debut over Davion Franklin but his win was ultimately underwhelming after Franklin was forced to submit to a TKO (3:19) after injuring his knee following a clean inside sweep from Trabelsi.

No. 9 light heavyweight Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov picked up his third straight win after blowing past Maciej Rozanski (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). Rozanski couldn’t move out of the way of Yagshimuradov’s right hand and was busted up throughout the fight. By the final bell he was leaking blood from the top of his skull. The loss was Rozanski’s second straight.

After suffering his first loss, middleweight Mukhamed Berkhamov (15-1) got back to winning ways in a 180-pound catchweight bout against Herman Terrado. Berkhamov was simply too much for Terrado on the feet. The Russian slugger took control of center cage and walked Terrado into the cage with body kicks and vicious knees. Berkhamov controlled most of the fight and was never in any danger, but Terrado’s toughness carried “The Titan” to the final bell.

Former Light Heavyweight Grant Neal looked impressive in his middleweight debut. Neal improved to 9-1 on his career after going three rounds with a game Romero Cotton. After having his six-fight win streak snapped in his last outing, Cotton threw with bad intentions at Neal. The fight was tight (29-28, 30-27, 29-28) but Neal’s combination of powerful strikes with efficient effective wrestling led to a unanimous verdict.

Undefeated flyweight prospect Jena Bishop (6-0) continued her perfect start in the Bellator cage with a dominant first-round win over No. 10 ranked Ilara Joanne. Bishop had little trouble on the ground with Joanne after struggling at first on the feet. While pinned along the cage Bishop took Joanne’s back before transitioning to a fight-ending armbar (2:40).

Bellator 300 kicked off with a battle of heavyweight debutants. Josh Hokit and Spencer Smith traded hard shots in the opening two rounds and entered the final round tied on the scorecards. Punches didn’t decide the opening bout, as Hokit opened his career with a Round 3 arm-triangle submission victory (3:48).