This article is the live play-by-play to accompany the live coverage of Bellator 245 happening on the website. Live coverage of the show can be viewed here.
Quick Results:
Preliminary Card (8:15PM EDT) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Keith Lee def. Vinicius Zani via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Tyrell Fortune vs. Jack May via No Contest, Groin Strike
Bout 3: Leslie Smith def. Amanda Bell via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Alex Polizzi def. Rafael Carvalho via Decision, Unanimous
Main Card (10:00PM EDT) (Paramount Network)
Bout 5: Raymond Daniels vs. Peter Stanonik via No Contest, Groin Strike (RD 2, 1:00)
Bout 6: Taylor Johnson def. Ed Ruth via Submission, Inverted Heel Hook (RD 1, 0:59)
Bout 7: Cat Zingano def. Gabrielle Holloway via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Phil Davis def. Lyoto Machida via Decision, Split
Play-by-Play:
Bout 1: Keith Lee (6-3) vs. Vinicius Zani (11-6) (Catchweight 140 lbs)
The fighters traded strikes in the first round. Zani got hit with a left hook in the third minute of the fight that hurt him. Lee landed a knee to the head in the fourth minute, although Zani caught the knee after. Zani stopped a takedown attempt in the final minute of the round. Lee landed a strong head kick in the closing moments while Zani attempted an overhand right.
Lee had a takedown attempt stopped in the second minute of the second round. After scoring a leg kick, Lee scoring a flying knee to the head of Zani. Lee threw Zani to the ground from a clinch, although they stood up right after. Lee connected with a clean right hook late in the round.
Zani failed to secure a takedown in the first minute of the third round. Lee put Zani against the cage in a clinch in the second minute of the round. They separated moments after. Like he did in the rounds before, Lee was the fighter advancing forwards. Zani was able to get a takedown in the final minute of the round, although Lee got back to his feet quickly. The fighters picked up their pace of strikes as the round ran out of time. After three rounds, Lee picked up the win (30-27, 29-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Lee | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Zani | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
Bout 2: Tyrell Fortune (8-1) vs. Jack May (11-6) (Heavyweight)
Fortune got a single leg takedown in the opening minutes of the fight. Fortune landed in side control on the ground. Moving into half guard, Fortune landed some strikes. May was able to escape the bottom position while Fortune attempted to move into full mount. Getting up to the feet, Fortune put May against the cage in a clinch. A pause came from the position after a knee to the groin dropped May. May used the entire five minutes of his break time, only going up to his knees in the time. Because he could not continue, the fight did not continue, ruled as a no contest.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Fortune | ||||
| May |
Bout 3: Leslie Smith (11-8-1) vs. Amanda Bell (7-6) (Featherweight)
Smith put Bell against the cage in a body lock in the second minute of the fight. They separated after Smith attempted a takedown from the position. Smith landed a head kick in the third minute of the fight. Bell came forward and was able to connect with short punches. Even when Smith was landing the better shots, Bell was the fighter advancing on the feet. Smith got a takedown in the final minute of the round, getting full guard for a moment before Bell was able to get back up. Smith got another takedown in the final second of the round.
Bell connected with a body kick in the first minute of the round. Smith put Bell against the cage in a clinch after charging forward with a combination. She scored a takedown from the clinch in the second minute of the round. Smith moved into full mount for a moment, although Bell was quick to escape the position and get to the feet. Smith got another takedown from a clinch in the third minute of the round. Getting on the back of Bell, Smith applied a rear naked choke. Bell was able to escape the choke, leaving the position and taking full guard on top after. They moved back to the feet with less than a minute left. Smith came forward with punches before the round ran out of time.
Bell landed a takedown early in the final round after Smith threw a multi-punch combination. Bell was able to get on the back of Smith where she landed punches. Smith was able to get Bell off of her back in the second minute, taking full guard on top after. Bell tried for an armbar from the bottom that Smith escaped. They returned to the feet with three minutes left. Smith connected with a hard left hand in the final minute of the round. Both fighters connected with punches in the final minute of the fight. Smith stopped a takedown attempt from Bell in the closing moments of the fight. Smith got the decision victory after three rounds (29-28, 39-28 & 29-28).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Smith | 10 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
| Bell | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
Bout 4: Rafael Carvalho (16-4) vs. Alex Polizzi (6-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Polizzi got a double leg takedown in the first minute of the fight. He got a second takedown in the second minute of the round. Polizzi moved into full guard before the fight returned to the feet yet again. Polizzi put Carvalho in a body lock against the cage after Carvalho charged forward with strikes. They separated with half of the round left. The fight went into a clinch after Polizzi failed to secure a single leg takedown. Polizzi got another takedown in the fourth minute of the fight, getting full guard on top. Carvalho scored an upkick when Polizzi stood up from the position. The round concluded with the fighters on their knees.
Polizzi got a double leg takedown early in the second round after throwing a series of punches. Carvalho was quick to get back to his feet. Polizzi kept Carvalho against the cage for a couple of minutes, eventually being separated by the referee. Polizzi slammed Carvalho down for a takedown in the final minute of the round after putting Carvalho against the cage. Polizzi kept control on the feet until the round concluded.
Carvalho stopped a takedown attempt in the first minute of the third round. After keeping Carvalho against the cage for a few minutes, Polizzi got a takedown in the final minute of the round. The fighters returned to the feet for the final moments of the round. Polizzi got the win after three rounds (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Carvalho | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| Polizzi | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
Bout 5: Raymond Daniels (2-1) vs. Peter Stanonik (5-4) (Welterweight)
Daniels was kick to attempt spinning kicks in the fight. Daniels slipped in the second minute after attempting a spinning kick. Stanonik was able to go to the ground and take full mount on top. Daniels threw open-fist strikes from the bottom. Daniels was able to escape the position and return to the feet with two minutes left in the fight. Daniels put together strong punches that connected in the final minute. Stanonik connected with an overhand left. A takedown attempt from Daniels was stopped by Stanonik before the round concluded.
A pause came in the first minute of the second round after a spinning back kick hit Stanonik in the groin. Stanonik was audibly in pain, down for a few minutes before getting to his feet. The fight was able to resume after a few minutes of a break for Stanonik. Only moments into the fight, another spinning back kick hit Stanonik in the groin again. The fight was stopped moments after.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Daniels | 9 | |||
| Stanonik | 10 |
Bout 6: Ed Ruth (8-2) vs. Taylor Johnson (5-1) (Middleweight)
Ruth got a single leg takedown to start the first round. Johnson got ahold of a leg from the bottom, trying a submission. Putting in an inverted heel hook, Johnson got Ruth to tap out moments after.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Ruth | ||||
| Johnson |
Bout 7: Cat Zingano (10-4) vs. Gabrielle Holloway (6-5) (Featherweight)
A leg kick dropped Holloway in the opening moments of the fight. Zingano got a takedown from a clinch, getting in side control on top. Holloway was able to roll out of the position after Zingano attempted an armbar. The fight returned to stand-up a minute-and-a-half into the fight. Zingano tried for a takedown in the second minute, although Holloway was able to stop the attempt. The fight remained in a body lock on the feet for a few minutes. Zingano got her second takedown in the fourth minute of the fight from the body lock. Like the first takedown, Zingano took side control on top. She held the position until the round concluded.
Zingano was able to get her third takedown from a body lock in the first minute of the second round. Holloway almost got on the back of Zingano on the ground, although Zingano was able to resist and take full guard on top. Zingano was able to move into full mount with two minutes left in the round. Zingano got on the back of Holloway with a minute left in the round. Zingano stayed in control from behind until the round ran out of time.
The fighters clinched up to start the final round, with Smith getting the takedown shortly after. Holloway was able to work back to her feet in a body lock. Holloway was able to throw Zingano down from the body lock, taking full mount on top. Holloway landed punches to the head from above. She eventually started to open up with hard elbows as well. After absorbing dozens of strikes, Zingano was able to flip the position and take half guard on top. Zingano got on the back of Holloway with a minute left in the fight. She landed punches from the position until the round expired. Zingano won her Bellator debut on the scorecards (29-27, 30-26 & 30-26).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Zingano | 10 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
| Holloway | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 |
Bout 8: Lyoto Machida (26-9) vs. Phil Davis (21-5) (Light Heavyweight)
The first round was a slow one that saw both fighters have a slow output of strikes. The offense of both fighters heavily focused on kicks. Machida landed numerous leg kicks in the round. Davis was connected with his own kicks, landing to the legs and body as well.
Davis landed a counter right hook in the third minute of the second round that hurt Machida, causing him to retreat to the cage. Davis caught a leg in the final minute of the round, throwing Machida to the ground because of it.
The slow pace of the fight maintained in the third round of the fight. The fighters would sometimes explode with exchanges of strikes. The fight went to split decision with, with two of the three scorecards giving the win to Davis (29-28 Machida, 29-28 Davis & 29-28 Davis).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Machida | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 |
| Davis | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 |
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