Bellator 222 is in the books, and you can check out the highlights right here on MMA Junkie.
The event took place Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York, and it streamed on DAZN.
In the main event, Rory MacDonald took a unanimous decision from Neiman Gracie to retain the welterweight title and move on to the grand prix final, where he’ll rematch Douglas Lima for $1 million. And in the co-main event, Lyoto Machida battered Chael Sonnen before scoring a TKO finish early in the second round. Afterward, Sonnen announced his retirement from MMA.
Also, history was made at the Garden, with Rizin FF bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi coming to America from Japan to defeat Darrion Caldwell and claim Bellator’s 135-pound title.
Bellator 222 also featured the successful return of grappling ace Dillon Danis, who made it look easy in a first-round submission win against the overmatched Max Humphrey. And Juan Archuleta, not to be outdone by the bigger fights, scored a devastating one-punch knockout win over former champ Eduardo Dantas to stake his claim to a title shot.
You can watch all the highlights in the video above.
Full Bellator 222 results include:
- Rory MacDonald def. Neiman Gracie via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) – to defend welterweight title/advance to WWGP final
- Lyoto Machida def. Chael Sonnen via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 2, 0:22
- Dillon Danis def. Max Humphrey via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:28
- Juan Archuleta def. Eduardo Dantas via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 4:59
- Kyoji Horiguchi def. Darrion Caldwell via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) – to win bantamweight title
- Taylor Turner def. Heather Hardy via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:53
- Adam Borics def. Aaron Pico via knockout (flying knee) – Round 2, 3:55
- Valerie Loureda def. Larkyn Dasch via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Lindsey VanZandt def. Rena Kubota via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:04
- Haim Gozali def. Gustavo Wurlitzer via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:02
- Mike Kimbel def. Sebastian Ruiz via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
- Robson Gracie Jr. def. Oscar Vera via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:15
- Marcus Surin def. Nekruz Mirkhojaev via split decision (30-27, 27-29, 29-27)
- Phil Hawes def. Michael Wilcox via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00
- John Beneduce def. Kenny Rivera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
For complete coverage of Bellator 222, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
