by Bellator 288 is primed and ready to go down with a championship doubleheader later TONIGHT (Friday, November 18, 2022) at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. In the main event of the night, light heavyweight kingpin Vadim Nemkov will once again face Corey Anderson in the Grand Prix Final. The event will be co-headlined by an exciting lightweight title fight, with Patricky Pitbull putting his 155-pound belt on the line against Usman Nurmagomedov.
Many readers stop by before, during, and after the fights to share their thoughts on all the action that’s about to begin 6 p.m. ET with YouTube “Prelims” and then switch to Showtime 9 p.m. ET for the main card action. Feel free to leave a comment (or 288) on the fights and chat with all the other maniacs during the show – it’s always a lot of fun!
Bellator 288 Fast results:
205 lbs.: Champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson
155 lbs.: Champion Patricky Pitbull vs. Usman Nurmagomedov
145 lbs.: Daniel Weichel vs. Timur Khizriev
265 pounds: Tyrell Fortune vs. Daniel James – James via TKO in the second round
170 lbs.: Roman Faraldo vs. Levan Chokheli – Chokheli by unanimous decision
185 pounds: Imamshafi Aliev vs. Sean Fallon – Aliev via TKO in the first round (med break)
155 lbs.: Archie Colgan vs. Jesse Hannam – Colgan via TKO in the first round
185 pounds: Jordan Neuman vs. Jayden Taulker – Newman on second round submission (guillotine choke)
155 lbs.: Killy’s Mota vs. Jairo Pachecho – Mota by unanimous decision
205 pounds: Sullivan Cauley vs. Jay Radick – Cauley via first round KO
145 lbs.: Laird Anderson vs. Rob Fenicle – Anderson via TKO in the second round
145 lbs.: Isaiah Hokit vs. Matias Nader – Hokit via TKO in the second round
265 pounds: Vlad Gouvea vs. Kory Moegenburg – Gouvea via second-round TKO
Bellator 288 Play-by-Play:
champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
end result:
champion Patrick Pitbull vs. Usman Nurmagomedov
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
end result:
Daniel Weichel against Timur Khizriev
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
end result:
Tyrell Fortune vs. DanielJames
Round 1: You touch gloves. Hard low kick from Fortune to get going. Another, but James catches it and sends it to the canvas. Fortune stands up and James grabs him and pushes him against the cage, Fortune changes position. There is a pause in the action after Fortune kneels his opponent in the groin. Fortune shoots the takedown as soon as the action resumes, and he gets it. There isn’t much to do locally. Fortune delivers some shots to James’ side, but nothing seems to hurt him. James is a sitting duck with fortune on him. James tries to get up and Fortune grabs his back and engages in a rear naked choke hold. It’s tight and James fights with his hands and he changes positions and starts landing bombs on Fortune to finish the round. Wild! Super tight round. 10-9 fortune
Round 2: James lands a huge uppercut in the opening seconds of round two, dropping Fortune! He falls and starts throwing his elbows. One after the other. The referee gives Fortune time to recover, but he’s seen enough. Wow! What a debut from James!
Bottom line: James defeated. Fortune via TKO in the second round
Roman Faraldo vs. Levan Chokheli
Round 1: Both men come out and Chokheli wants an early takedown and he gets it. Chokheli nearly got a chokehold, but Faralod escapes. Back to her feet and Chokheli lets his fist fly and he rocks Faraldo for a moment. Chokheli goes for a takedown, stuffed and with a nice judo throw from Farlaldo, which lands in the mount position. That was smooth. Farldo starts elbowing and Chokheli somehow changes position and he’s in cover now. Chokheli doesn’t do much with this position. He clears some space and starts the ground-and-pound. Faraldo tries to get back up but Chokheli holds his position. Faraldo crawls, but he can’t escape his opponent’s tight grip. This was a close round but Chokheli wins. 10-9 Chokheli
Round 2: Faraldo lands a right hand and Chokheli attempts another takedown but he’s stuffed. They swing towards the fences, but Chokheli doesn’t like it at all and grabs Faraldo and pushes him against the cage. Chokheli is in Faraldo’s open watch. Chokheli takes over Faraldo’s back and is now chasing the rear naked choke. Faraldo escapes but is kicked in the face by Chokheli. Chokheli grabs Faraldo and drags him to the fence, but he eats some elbows to the side of the head for his troubles. Chokheli with a nice right hand but Faraldo drops him with a nice right hand and he hits. Chokheli tries to survive while Faraldo unleashes hell with his fists. He’s out of trouble for now. Faraldo now lands several punches to the side of the head and has a point deducted for grabbing the fence. He finishes the round with non-stop elbows. Without the fence hold he would have won the round. 9-9
Round 3: Faraldo needs a finish because if he wins this round the fight will end in a draw. Faraldo swings hard, but nothing connects cleanly. Chokheli shoots for a takedown but is plugged again. Both men slowed down quite a bit in the third and final round after throwing some big heats in the first two rounds. Chokheli’s left hook and Faraldo return fire with a clean right hand. Chokheli switches levels and eventually gets the takedown. It’s a critical takedown that will earn him points in the round. Faraldo has to work his way up to try to get the knockout or try to secure an assist from the floor. Chokheli has a great position and he’s not going to give it up. Chokheli gets a warning from the referee to do some more work. Faraldo works hard to get up but Chokheli doesn’t budge as he has one minute left in the fight. The fight ends in the same position with Chokheli in the lead and Faraldo trying to get to his feet. 10-9 Chokheli
End result: Chokheli defeated. Faraldo by unanimous decision
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