Bellator 282 results, highlights: Mousasi vs. Eblen

Bellator 282 took place on Saturday at the Mohican Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi (49-8-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) defended his title against undefeated challenger Johnny Eblen (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) in the main contest of the Blatter 282. Tried to win the 50th of his career.

Gegard Mousasi established himself as one of the best middleweights in the history of the sport, achieving success in his long career. But in Bellator 282, Mousasi competed against Johnny Abelin, an undefeated young fighter, and it was he who came up with a brilliant game plan to win the Mousasi middleweight championship.

Eblen outscored Mousasi by winning the shutout decision and becoming the new king of Bellator at 185 lbs. Eblen's wrestling base also quickly emerged as a factor as he was able to use takeoff and ground control between his heavy punches.

The fight was in Eblen's hands from the beginning. Eblin kept his grip tight from start to finish as the threat of a take-down seemed to freeze Mousasi to a considerable extent, allowing the champion to never freely strike. He did not let go for fear that he would open up to remove himself.

Mousasi leaned heavily on his jaw and the soles of his legs, but almost all significant action in the fight came from Eblen because he controlled almost every moment of the fight, whether on foot or on the ground.

Eblen's confidence only increased when he was ticked off by the rounds, which allowed him to add a bit of show-booting after landing late combinations.

And in the end, the judges awarded Eblen a stunning 50-45 clean scorecard victory, which gave Eblen the Bellator Middleweight Championship in just the 12th fight of his career.

Eblen suffered his second defeat in 2016, covering a five-fight winning streak to end Mousasi's UFC career and seven wins in the Bellator cage, including two separate events as middleweight champion.

In addition, Leandro Higo (21-6 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) meet Danny Sabatello (13-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) and Enrique Barzola (18-6-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), Magomed Magomedov (19-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) Competed with in the Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals.

At the start of the main card, crowd favorite Brennan Ward delighted fans once again with Kassius Kayne's second-round TKO, giving him his second win of 2022.

Below are the results and highlights:

Official Bellator 282 results include:

MAIN CARD

• Johnny Eblen def. Gegard Mousasi via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) – for middleweight title

• Danny Sabatello def. Leandro Higo via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) – bantamweight grand prix quarterfinal

• Magomed Magomedov def. Enrique Barzola via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 4, 1:27 – bantamweight grand prix quarterfinal.

• Brennan Ward def. Kassius Kayne via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:11

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Killys Mota def. Dan Moret via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• Lucas Brennan def. Johnny Soto via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:34

• Alexander Shabliy def. Brent Primus via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:22

• Cat Zingano def. Pam Sorenson via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 29-27)

• Anatoly Tokov def. Muhammad Abdullah via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:28

• Sabah Homasi def. Maycon Mendonca via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:58

• Ilara Joanne def. Alejandra Lara via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)

• James Gonzalez def. Cody Law via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-26)

• Aaron Jeffery def. Fabio Aguiar via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:32

• Mandel Nallo def. Bryce Logan via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:07