Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary dominated Brett McDermott, knocking him out in the second round at Bellator 173, at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
It was McGeary’s first fight since he lost the title to Phil Davis last year. McGeary looked sharp and in charge, despite an early scare.
McDermott dropped McGeary early with a left jab, but McGeary popped up to his feet quickly. The two traded punches evenly until McGeary landed a right head kick that changed the tone of the fight. McGeary followed up with a few punches that bloodied McDermott’s face and later in the round he dropped McDermott with a wicked knee.
McDermott fell to the ground, but McGeary was unable to finish him, despite an armbar attempt. McDermott stayed strong from the bottom, even reversing position, to end the round on top.
But Round 2 was all McGeary, who landed more punches and opened up a cut over McDermott’s right eye. The referee stopped the fight at 1:02 of the first round after the cageside doctor determined that McDemott couldn’t see out of his right eye.
McGeary improved to 12-1, while McDermott, who took the fight on three days’ notice, dropped to 7-5.
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