Bellator 263 took place in The Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday evening. The night was headlined by Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs AJ McKee in the finals of the Featherweight World Grand Prix. Not only is Pitbull’s Featherweight Championship on the line but also a 1 million dollar prize. Other bouts included: Brent Primus vs Islam Mamedov, Usman Nurmagomedov vs Manny Muro, Emmanuel Sanchez vs Mads Burnell, Goiti Yamauchi vs Chris Gonzalez and six preliminary fights.
Complete Results For Bellator 263 The Main Card
The opening fight on the main card was the 160 lb. Contract Weight Bout between Goiti Yamauchi (26-5) vs. Chris Gonzalez (6-1) Yamauchi won via TKO in the first round. This was an impressive win for Yamauchi because every strike he went for was precise and better executed than any attempts made by Gonzalez. The surprising thing about this fight was that Gonzalez didn’t seem to rely on or attempt to use any of his wrestling skills which is what his strong suit is as a world class wrestler.
The following fight of the night was the Lightweight Bout: Brent Primus (10-2) vs. Islam Mamedov (20-1-1), Islam Mamedov won via decision. This was a bit of a controversial decision because many did not agree with the way judges scored this fight. The first judge gave it to Mamedov, the second to Primus and the third to Mamedov. Many can argue that Islam did not do as much to try and finish the match, meanwhile Primus was trying to finish the match.Islam mentioned in his post-match press conference that he belives he won all three rounds and that Primus does not deserve a rematch. It should also be noted that Goiti Yamauchi mentioned in his post-match press conference that he would like to challenge the winner from this bout.
The third bout of the night was the Lightweight Bout between Usman Nurmagomedov (13-0) vs. Manny Muro (12-7). Nurmagomedov won via TKO. Both men were locked in and Nurmagomedov was able to get the win after he hit Muro with a knee, that knee took Muro down and Nurmagomedov got the upperhand and began pounding him with several rights and lefts to the head. Nurmagomedov continues his undefeated streak, winning his last 13 fights. \
The fourth fight of the night was the Featherweight Bout between #2-Emmanuel Sanchez (20-6) vs. #8-Mads Burnell (16-3). Mads Burnell won via decision. This fight held a great pace and kept the action going all the way through.
The main event of the night, and the most anticipated fight of the night, the Featherweight World Title Main Event between C-Patricio Pitbull (32-5) vs. #1-AJ McKee (18-0). AJ Mckee defeated Pitbull in round one via submission. In a wild and quick moment, McKee kicked Pitbull and was able to get him in a standing guillotine and Pitbull was knocked out cold. The entire arena erupted, after McKee's dominant win. McKee continues his undefeated streak of 18 wins. McKee is now the new Featherweight Champion and secured $1 million dollars.
Complete Results For The Bellator 263 Preliminary Card
A total of six prelims took place ahead of the main card at Bellator 263 and aired simultaneously on the Bellator MMA and Showtime YouTube channels and Pluto TV.
The first prelim of the night was the Bantamweight Bout between Brian Moore (14-7) vs Jordan Winski (11-3), Brain Moore won via Unanimous Decision (30-26). It was a clear victory for Moore especially since he dominated the second round by taking Winski down to the mat, and hitting him with several body shots and some shots straight to the head.
The second prelim was a Lightweight Bout between two confident fighters, Georgi Karakhanyan (31-11-1) vs. Kiefer Crosbie (8-3), however Karakhanyan won via Submission in the first round. Although Crosbie was very confident heading into this fight, he was unable to compete against the more experienced Karakhanyan.
The third prelim was one of the most exciting fights during this portion of the night. The 180 lb. Contract Weight Bout between Joshua Jones (11-5) and Johnny Cisneros (13-8), Joshua Jones ended up winning by TKO. Cisneros came in red hot into the fight and started out strong but was quickly worn out by Jones. Jones closed out the first round with double fists on Cisneros. He continued dominating the fight during round two, Jones did not allow Cisneros any opportunity on offense.
The fourth prelim of the night was a Featherweight Bout between Khasan Magomedsharipov (6-0) and Jonathan Quiroz (3-5). In his first fight with the promotion, Magomedsharipov won this bout via TKO and continues his undefeated streak.
The fifth prelim of the night was the 150 lb. Contract Weight Bout between Gadzhi Rabadanov (16-4-2) and Daniel Carey (7-5). Rabadanov won via TKO in the first round. Carey had been going for multiple kicks throughout the round and after going for another, Rabadanov used that to his advantage and landed a left hook on Carey that sent him straight to the ground and garnered a massive reaction from the live crowd. Rabadanov immediately launched himself atop of Carey and went for additional shots. Carey was stretchered out of the cage and Rabadanov made an impressive Bellator debut.
Gadzhi Rabadanov got POWER! ----
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 1, 2021
The Khabib protege is certainly a fighter to watch after tonight… #Bellator263 #MMA pic.twitter.com/NglFHgBn9f
The sixth prelim was the Women’s Flyweight Bout between #10-Vanessa Porto (23-9) vs. Ilara Joanne (9-6). Vanessa Porto won via decision.. Immediately in the first round, we saw Joanne attack Porto in multiple ways including multiple high knees to the midsection of Porto. The second round, Porto got busted open, they went back and forth until Joanne got her in a chokehold, she lost a hold of it on the ground and both exchanged several shots with one another, Joanne then locked in the guillotine and it almost looked like it was over. But it wasn’t over. In the third round, we saw Porto take her down aggressively and locked her in a chokehold.
