Bellator 195 results: Juan Archuleta blows out William Joplin, including a 30-23 score

Bellator newcomer Juan Archuleta wanted to make a good impression in his debut. So he did his best to catch William Joplin with a variety of spinning and jumping attacks.

Where he won the fight, however, was on the canvas. With Joplin (15-15 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) completely unable to stop the takedown, Archuleta (18-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) used his wrestling to slam his opponend to the ground and beat him up against the cage, working his way to a blowout on the judges’ scorecards.

The featherweight bout opened up the main card of today’s Bellator 195 event at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. It aired on Paramount following prelims on MMAjunkie.

The final scores were overwhelmingly weighted toward Archuleta, with 30-26, 30-24 and 30-23 scores. It was his first win under the Bellator banner after a long and successful career on the regional circuit.

Joplin tried to bully Archuleta early with his striking, and the two traded shots in an effort to catch each other. The standup affair was short lived, however. Archuleta scooped up Joplin and put him against the cage, where he loosed dozens of elbows. A meek guillotine attempt was Joplin’s reply.

Archuleta nearly booted Joplin’s face off in the second frame after tossing him to the mat, where he continued to do damage. Joplin’s left eye started swelling badly. When the action returned to the feet, Archuleta got fancy with his striking. But in the end, it was the takedown that made the loudest statement.

A D’Arce attempt in the third frame nearly gave Archuleta the finish he was looking for, but Joplin rode out the storm. In the final push, both fighters threw caution to the wind and slugged it out. Archuleta didn’t exactly get the better of it, catching several right hands as he flurried away. It was still a dominant debut, and the scorecards reflected that fact.

Archuleta hasn’t seen defeat since 2015 and currently enjoys a 13-fight win streak. Joplin drops to 1-3 in his past four outings and brings his overall win percentage to .500.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 195 results include:

• Juan Archuleta def. William Joplin via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-24, 30-23)
• Aaron Webb def. Thomas Lopez via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:11
• Kevin Holland def. Teagan Dooley via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:59
• Daniel Carey def. Cris Williams via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Romero Cotton def. Justin Reeser via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:35
• Fernando Gonzalez def. Armando Servin via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:24 – 175-pound catchweight
• Justin Patterson def. Brian Grinnell via TKO (knee) – Round 1, 4:49
• Ky Bennett def. Morgan Solis via submission (Americana) – Round 2, 3:37

For more on Bellator 195, check out the MMA Events section of the site.