TEMECULA, Calif. – Friday’s Bellator 219 delivered a few must-see moments, including an absolutely bonkers main event, and an emotional victory in the night’s co-feature.
Bellator 219 took place at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. The night’s main card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims that streamed on MMAjunkie.
In the headlining contest, Brandon Girtz (15-8 MMA, 7-6 BMMA) returned after nearly a year on the sidelines and looked as if he hadn’t missed a beat, going toe-to-toe with Saad Awad (23-10 MMA, 11-7 BMMA) for three full rounds. Girtz threatened to finish it early and landed his share of big punches throughout the 15-minute contest, but Awad showed incredible resiliency in battling through the damage and offering back his own offense in reply. In the end, though, Girtz was granted the unanimous decision.
In the co-feature, former Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus (25-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) made his first appearance since a December 2017 motorcycle accident that threatened to end his career. Despite admittedly not being at full health, Straus still found a way to flatten Shane Kruchten (12-5 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) before slipping to his back and scoring an emotional first-round submission win.
Additional main card action saw Andrey Koreshkov (22-3 MMA, 13-3 BMMA) pick up a decision win over a gritty newcomer in Mike Jasper (13-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), while vaunted striker Joe Schilling (4-5 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) showed his increasingly well-rounded skillset in a decision win over Keith Berry (15-15-1 MMA, 2-4-1 BMMA).
Check out highlights of all the action in the above.
For complete coverage of Bellator 219, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
