Former Bellator MMA Middleweight Champion Alexander Shlemenko suffered a decision loss to UFC veteran Gegard Mousasi in the main event of Bellator 185.
The fighter feels that he should’ve walked away with the decision win and his manager says that they are considering filing an appeal to have the fight result overturned.
“In our opinion, this fight is a career-turning point,” Alexey Zhernakov said to MMA Junkie. “We think he did good enough in this fight to get a win and with a fighter who’s ranked No. 4 in the world. He was a UFC contender. (A win) would mean a lot in developing Shlemenko’s career, so this fight is important – very important to him. Round No. 3, he won with probably a 10-8, because it was judged by the recent changes in the rules. But Round No. 2 is what we’re talking about. According to statistics, he won the second round, because for three-and-a-half minutes, he was dominating. And by dominating, he was landing significant shots. The damage was on his side.”
If Shlemenko were to file an appeal, the fighter would have to do so through the Mohegan Tribe Department Of Athletic Regulations (MTDAR).
However, the hitch in the plan is that the MTDAR doesn’t have any process for filing an appeal.
“I stand behind my officials 100 percent, and there is nothing in my rules or regulations that would require or allow the decision to be appealed,” MTDAR Head Mike Mazzulli said to MMA Junkie.
That loss for Shlemenko was the fourth for the fighter under the Bellator MMA banner. Those other three losses came to former middleweight champion Hector Lombard, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and former middleweight champion Brandon Halsey.
