This article is the play-by-play for Thursday’s Bellator 252 card. Click here to view the live coverage of the show happening on the website.
Quick Results:
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EST) (Youtube)
Bout 1: Trevor Gudde def. Khonry Gracie via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:28)
Bout 2: Roman Faraldo def. Pat Casey via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:30)
Bout 3: Lucas Brennan def. Andrew Salas via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Jornel Lugo def. Schyler Sootho via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Manny Muro def. Devin Powell via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Keri Melendez def. Emilee King via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 3:02)
Bout 7: Aaron Pico def. John de Jesus via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:12)
Main Card (7:00PM EST) (CBS Sports Network)
Bout 9: Yaroslav Amosov def. Logan Storley Decision, Split
Play-by-Play:
Bout 1: Khonry Gracie (2-1) vs. Trevor Gudde (1-1) (Welterweight)
Gudde put Gracie against the cage in a clinch early. A pause came from the clinch early as a knee hit the groin of Gudde. The fight resumed without a clinch. Gracie connected with a strong right hand in the second minute of action. Gudde was able to put him against the cage again in a clinch. A knee to the groin of Gracie caused a pause in the second clinch. The round finished with the fighters battling in a clinch again.
Gracie landed a series of head punches in a clinch early in the second round. Gudde was able to score with knees to the body in the position. Gudde kept Gracie against the cage in a body lock for a large portion of the round. Gracie was able to get a takedown in the fourth minute of the round. He kept control, throwing some punches from the position before the round ran out of time.
Gracie landed a left hook early in the third round before clinching with Gudde. Gudde took control from the position, putting Gracie against the cage. Leaving the clinch, Gudde dropped Gracie with a knee to the head in the fourth minute. Gudde went down with ground and pound, throwing punches until the referee intervened.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Gracie | 10 | 9 | ||
| Gudde | 9 | 10 |
Bout 2: Roman Faraldo (3-0) vs. Pat Casey (6-3) (Welterweight)
Casey shot for a takedown a minute into the fight, although Faralod was able to back up and defend it. Faraldo had a good exchange in the fourth minute, putting together a series of punches and a knee to the head in a clinch. Faraldo was able to come forward with strikes throughout the round. Casey was seemingly dropped by a left hand in the final moments of the round.
A cut opened above the right eye of Casey in the second round. Faraldo did a good job at counter-punching throughout the round. Faraldo landed a flying knee mid-way through the round, dropping Casey. He finished the fight with ground and pound right after.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Faraldo | 10 | |||
| Casey | 9 |
Bout 3: Lucas Brennan (3-0) vs. Andrew Salas (6-4) (Featherweight)
Brennan scored a takedown within the first minute of action. He looked for a d’arce choke, losing the choke while on top in a north-south position. Brennan scored with a series of elbows from side control. Brennan controlled Salas on the ground, moving from position to position while landing strikes from all spots. Brennan finished the round on top in full mount.
Brennan shot for a takedown early in the second round. Salas looked for a guillotine choke while the fighters went down and then back up to the feet. Brennan put Salas against the cage in a clinch after escaping the choke. He scored a takedown in the third minute of the round, taking a north-south position on top.
Brennan put Salas against the cage early in the third round. He scored a takedown halfway through the round. Brennan landed punches on the ground for a large portion of the third round. Salas worked up to his feet just before the round ran out of time. As expected, Salas won a sweep on the scorecards after three rounds (30-27, 30-26 & 30-26).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Brennan | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Salas | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
Bout 4: Jornel Lugo (4-0) vs. Schyler Sootho (4-0) (Bantamweight)
Lugo caught a leg kick a minute into the fight, putting Sootho against the cage in a clinch after. Lugo took Sootho down for a moment, although Sootho got back to the feet immediately. Lugo got on the back of Sootho while on the feet after throwing Sootho down for a moment again. Lugo kept the pressure against Sootho against the cage for most of the round. Lugo scored a takedown in the closing seconds of the round.
Lugo took Sootho down in the second minute of the second round, but he was able to spring back up. Sootho was defending for a fair amount of the round, as Lugo would be pressed on him through a clinch.
While not throwing many strikes, Sootho kept pressure on Lugo early in the third round, advancing on him frequently. Lugo was able to put together solid singular punches during the round. Sootho shot for a double leg takedown in the fourth round, although Lugo was able to stop it. Needing judges to find a winner, Lugo won on the scorecards (29-28, 30-27 & 30-27).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Lugo | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Sootho | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
Bout 5: Devin Powell (10-4) vs. Manny Muro (11-6) (Lightweight)
Muro caught a leg of Powell in the second minute, sweeping him by kicking the other leg after. Muro was putting together good combinations on Powell. A pause came in the final minute of the round as Muro was poked in the eye.
Muro shot for a takedown early in the second round, putting Powell against the cage. Both fighters were taking turns landing shots in the round. Muro scored a takedown in the third minute of the round. Powell landed some hammerfist punches from his back, also trying for a triangle choke periodically. Muro was on top on the ground until the round concluded.
Muro put Powell against the cage in a clinch in the second minute of the final round, getting a takedown moments after. Muro kept full guard on top until the round ran out of time. Muro won via decision after three rounds (30-27, 29-28 & 30-27).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Powell | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| Muro | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
Bout 6: Keri Melendez (4-0) vs. Emilee King (4-3) (Strawweight)
Melendez landed hard punches early in the round, connecting with many while holding a leg of King. Melendez landed a series of punches and a knee to the body that dropped King in the third minute. She took the back of King, putting in a rear naked choke that caused a tap out.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Melendez | ||||
| King |
Bout 7: Aaron Pico (6-3) vs. John de Jesus (13-8) (Featherweight)
Pico scored a takedown in the first minute, taking full guard on top. Moving into half guard, Pico landed strikes from the position. He took de Jesus down again in the second minute after de Jesus worked to the feet for a second. De Jesus started to bleed due to strikes on the ground. The round ended with Pico pressing de Jesus against the cage.
Pico scored a takedown early in the second round after landing two body shots. Pico spent a large portion of the round in control. De Jesus was able to get back to the feet with a minute to go in the fight. Pico dropped him with an overhand right, landing follow-up punches after to win.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Pico | 10 | |||
| De Jesus | 9 |
Bout 8: Daniel Weichel (40-11) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (19-4) (Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal)
Weichel scored a takedown early in the first round after catching a kick from Sanchez. They were quick to return to the feet. Weichel was landing good combinations of punches on the feet. A right hand from Wiechel hurt Sanchez in the fourth minute of action. Sanchez was able to connect with his own shots, advancing on Weichel in the fourth minute.
Sanchez came forward with strikes in the first minute of the second round that hurt Weichel. Weichel seemingly go hurt by a punch to the body. Putting Weichel against the cage, Sanchez continued with punches until Weichel dropped. Sanchez continued with strikes while on the back of Weichel. Weichel was able to work back up to his feet halfway through the round. Sanchez continued to land with punches on the feet until the round concluded.
The third round was slow paced, but had Sanchez in control of a striking battle throughout.
Weichel got on the back of Sanchez on the feet early in the fourth round. Sanchez escaped eventually and connected with strikes on the feet. Weichel put Sanchez against the cage in a clinch in the third minute of the round.
Sanchez stopped a takedown attempt early in the fifth round. Sanchez scored a takedown in the second minute of action. They returned to the feet after Sanchez held full guard for a few minutes. After five rounds of action, Sanchez was given the win to move on in the tournament (48-46, 49-46 & 49-45).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Total |
| Weichel | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 50 |
| Sanchez | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 44 |
Bout 9: Yaroslav Amosov (24-0) vs. Logan Storley (11-0) (Welterweight)
Storley was quick to shoot for a takedown, putting Amosov against the cage early on. Amosov resisted a second takedown a minute into the fight. Storley kept Amosov busy with consistent takedown attempts throughout the round. Amosov was able to get a takedown in the fourth minute, although the fight returned to the feet within a minute.
Storley was able to take Amosov down in the first minute. After a scramble, Storley had side control on top. The fight returned to the feet in the second minute of the round. Storley scored a takedown in the third minute. Storley was threatened by a d’arce choke, although he was able to escape it while on the ground. They stood back up with half of the fight left. Storley landed a takedown in the fourth minute, although, like attempts before, Amosov was quick to slither out of the position.
Amosov had a good start to the final round, putting some strikes together on Storley. Amosov resisted a takedown attempt from Storley in the third minute. Storley got on the back of Amosov in the third minute, taking the fight to the ground. Storley put in a rear naked choke that he lost and re-applied. Amosov escaped the choke with just over 30 seconds to go. The fighters traded hard strikes before the round ran out of time. After three rounds of action, the fight went to the judges, where Amosov won a split decision (29-28 Storley, 29-28 Amosov & 29-28 Amosov).
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Amosov | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 |
| Storley | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 |
Bout 10: Patricio Pitbull (30-4) vs. Pedro Carvalho (11-3) (Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal)
Pitbull put Carvalho against the cage in a clinch a minute into the fight. A punch hurt Carvalho during a clinch in the second minute. Pitbull got a takedown after hurting Carvalho with punches, getting on his back for a moment before they returned to the feet. Pitbull seemingly rocked Carvalho with a punch on the feet. Moments after, a two-punch combo dropped Carvalho again, causing the referee to end the fight.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Total |
| Pitbull | ||||||
| Carvalho |
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