Bellator 97 video highlights: Askren beats down Koreshkov, 'King Mo' cruises

Wednesday’s Bellator 97 event included five main-card bouts and five knockouts, including TKO wins by welterweight champion Ben Askren and notable Muhammed Lawal. Check out the video highlights of each bout.

Bellator 97 aired on Spike TV from Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M.

In addition to lightweight champ Michael Chandler (12-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) topping David Rickels (14-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in just 44 seconds, fellow champ Askren (12-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) posted a hugely lopsided TKO win over fellow welterweight Andrey Koreshkov (13-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) in the co-headliner.

Two “Summer Series” tournaments also concluded as “King Mo” Lawal (11-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) battered and bloodied fellow light heavyweight Jacob Noe (12-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), and heavyweight Vitaly Minakov (12-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) overcame a baffling point deduction to stop Ryan Martinez (10-2 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) late in their fight.

The night kicked off with a vintage “Pitbull” performance as Patricio Freire (18-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) continually knocked down and ultimately stopped a resilient Jared Downing (9-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

Check out the fight video above.

And for the latest on Bellator 97, including the night’s official results, check out the MMA Events section of the site.