Bellator 124 video highlights: Newton destroys Beltran with new signature backfist

At Friday’s Bellator 124 event, Emanuel Newton was getting a serious push from heavy underdog title challenger Joey Beltran.

In fact, had the fight gone the distance, there may have been some tense moments waiting for the scorecards to be announced. But Newton changed all that in an instant in the third round.

After trying several spinning backfists earlier in the fight, Newton (24-7-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) went after it one more time up against the fence. This time, he connected – and stopped Beltran (15-11 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) dead in his tracks, instantly knocking out the veteran fighter to defend his light heavyweight title.

The fight aired on Spike TV from Compuware Arena in Plymouth Township, Mich., outside Detroit.

Also on the card, Liam McGeary (9-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) continued his astounding run with an inverted triangle choke finish of Kelly Anundson (9-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) to win the light heavyweight tournament and get a shot at Newton; L.C. Davis (23-6 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) put on a wrestling clinic to top Zeilton Rodrigues (12-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA); and Ryan Couture (9-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) made quick work of last-minute replacement Tom Bagnasco (3-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in his Bellator debut.

Check out all the highlights above.

And for more on Bellator 124, including a full event recap, check out the MMA Events section of the site.