Bellator 164 results: Douglas Lima drops Andrey Koreshkov to reclaim title

More than a year after losing his title, Douglas Lima knocked out Andrey Koreshkov to avenge a loss and take back the Bellator welterweight title.

Lima made Koreskov pay for getting a little too aggressive, landing a left hand that dropped the Russian champ at the 1:21 mark of the Round 3 in Bellator 164’s headliner.

“It feels great,” Lima said afterward at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel, which hosted the tape-delayed Spike event. “Ever since I came to Bellator, that was my goal to be champion. It was an honor for me to compete against him again.”

In July 2015, a hobbled Lima defended his belt against Koreshkov at Bellator 140. Unable to fight the challenger’s takedowns due to a knee injury, he was outwrestled en route to a unanimous decision loss.

There were shades of that first fight in the second round when Koreshkov nabbed a takedown and held Lima on the mat, finishing the frame with effective ground and pound.

But in this engagement, Lima wasn’t encumbered by injury and made full use of his standup skills, bruising Koreshkov’s lead leg with kicks. What Lima lacked in output, he made up for in damage.

Early in the third round, Koreshkov caught Lima with a glancing right hook and swarmed in to finish the fight, unloading with a combination as Lima met the cage. But while loading up for a punch, Lima snuck in his own shot and put the champ down, sealing his comeback win.

“I’m just blessed to be here healthy having two legs under me,” said Lima, who welcomed a fight with onetime UFC title challenger and recent Bellator signee Rory MacDonald for the first title defense of his second stint as champ.

“I’d love the opportunity to fight him,” Lima said. “It can be here, in Brazil, in Canada, or the states, wherever.”

Lima (28-6 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) now has won two straight since his loss to Koreshkov (19-2 MMA, 10-2 BMMA), who sees a six-fight streak snapped.

Israeli featherweight Noah Lahat gave his hometown crowd a thrill and made a successful Bellator debut with a one-sided drubbing of Scott Cleve.

Lahat stung Cleve with his right hand before ducking under punches to threaten a takedown. When Cleve tried to escape, Lahat took the back and sunk in a rear-naked choke at the 2:26 mark of the first round.

Lahat (10-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) now returns to the win column after a UFC knockout loss to Diego Rivas that led to his release from the promotion. Cleve (15-6 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) has now dropped back to back fights.

Karakhanyan steamrolls Medvedovski before injury TKO

An apparent injury brought an early ending to featherweight Georgi Karakhanyan’s meeting with Kirill Medvedovski.

But even without the intervention of the referee, the fight was not going Medvedovski’s way against a much more experienced opponent.

A signal from Medvedovski ended punishment from a series of right hands at the 3:40 mark of the opening frame. Had the Israeli fighter’s shoulder not failed, his time in the cage appeared limited.

From the outset, Karakhanyan pressured Medvedovski into bad positions, taking top position after threatening a guillotine choke. The “Insane” one easily passed guard and played a bit from the top before letting his opponent up. When Medvedovski telegraphed a throw attempt, he planted and used his weight to again get on top.

Karakhanyan (26-6 MMA, 5-4 BMMA) didn’t have to work long before the fight was over, and afterward called for a super fight with lightweight Josh Thomson. He picked up his second straight win after an August knockout of Bubba Jenkins, while Medvedovski (7-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) dropped to 1-3 in his past four outings.

After a setback in her Bellator debut, women’s flyweight Lena Ovchynnikova dominated Karla Benitez over three rounds in an all-standup affair.

Ovchynnikova controlled the distance and repeatedly tagged Benitez, who was unable to adjust to her opponent’s range and made no effort to take the fight to the ground despite several opportunities handed to her.

By the third round, Benitez’s right eye was swollen courtesy of Ovchynnikova’s left hand, which repeatedly stung her as she advanced. But even when Ovchynnikova offered her back in the most obvious way in the final frame, Benitez appeared completely unprepared to capitalize and perhaps reverse the trend of the previous two rounds.

Instead, she simply got back into kickboxing range and attempted to bully her way to success. On several occasions, she managed to get into the clinch and land knees to the head and body. But mostly, she provided a target for Ovchynnikova, who picked up a unanimous call of 30-27.

Benitez (13-10-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), now has dropped two straight while Ovchynnikova (11-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) gets back to the win column after a draw against Mara Romero Borella in May.

In preliminary-card action, Honor Kelesh (2-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) schooled Omri Barel (0-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) on the ground before locking in a rear-naked choke at the 3:02 mark of the Round 1.

Jackie Gosh had gotten dropped by an overhand left and, by all appearances, was getting schooled in striking by the undefeated Joaquin Buckley. Then Gosh snuck in a straight right hand, and Buckley buckled to the canvas. Hammerfists put Buckley (6-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) out and sealed the deal at the 2:44 mark of the first round, extending Gosh’s (7-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) unbeaten streak to seven fights.

Complete Bellator 164 results include:

MAIN CARD

• Douglas Lima def. Andrey Koreshkov via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 1:21
• Noad Lahat def. Scott Cleve via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:26
• Georgi Karakhanyan def. Kirill Medvedovski via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 3:40
• Lena Ovchynnikova def. Karla Benitez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Honor Kelesh def. Omri Barel via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:02
• Jackie Gosh def. Joaquin Buckley via KO (punches) – Round 1, 2:44

For more on Bellator 164, check out the MMA Events section of the site.