Adam Borics secured his status as one of the top featherweights in Bellator on Saturday night, going five rounds against Mads Burnell for a unanimous decision victory.
The fight headlined Bellator 276 from The Family Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
The victory for Borics came through a close stand-up battle through all five rounds. Burnell was constantly advancing at Borics on the feet, although Borics was able to land the better shots off his backfoot.
There were a few brief moments in the fight where Borics landed clean shots that could have hurt Burnell. One of these moments came early, as he landed a clean flying knee on Borics in the first minute. Later in the fight, a right cross knocked Burnell down as well.
The win made Borics one of the highest-ranked featherweights in the promotion. He is now on a four-fight winning streak, including a victory last year over Jeremy Kennedy.
Bellator Featherweight Champion AJ McKee Jr. is currently booked to face former titleholder Patricio Pitbull next month. If that fight can put an end to their rivalry, it is expected that Borics will get a title fight next.
The fight on Saturday was the first loss for Burnell since joining Bellator in 2020. He was riding the momentum of a big win, defeating Emmanuel Sanchez last year.
Davis Takes Decision Nod Over Anglickas
Veteran Phil Davis secured a comfortable win in the co-main event of Saturday’s card, working to a unanimous decision win against former title challenger Julius Anglickas.
The grappling skills of Davis gave him the edge in this fight, taking Anglickas down in every frame and using these positions to attempt submissions.
Davis now has a two-fight winning streak. He spoiled the Bellator debut of Yoel Romero in his previous fight, defeating him via split decision in September 2021.
Anglickas’ previous fight was a one-sided loss to current Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov. This fight was part of the promotion’s grand prix in that weight class, which Anglickas was an alternate fighter for.
Prior to the loss that Anglickas took to Nemkov last year, he had three wins in Bellator.
Eblen Calls For Title Fight Following Seventh Bellator Win
Undefeated Johnny Eblen potentially made himself the next challenger for a middleweight title fight on Saturday, defeating John Salter via unanimous decision.
Eblen dominated a large portion of the fight on the ground, scoring a takedown on Salter in every single round of the fight. He also succeeded on the feet, notably connecting with kicks to the body.
Eblen now has an impressive record of 11 pro wins, with seven of them in Bellator. He had a quick finish win in his previous appearance, stopping Collin Huckbody in the second minute of a fight with strikes.
Salter was making his first appearance since he lost a title fight last year to Gegard Mousasi.
Eblen called for a title fight following his win, mentioning that he hopes to take Mousasi out.
“I’m here to take your a** out. You’re an old a** lion, I’m a young a** lion,” said Eblen to Mousasi during his post-fight interview.
Rabadanov Hands Wilson First Pro Loss
Gadzhi Rabadanov handed Jay Jay Wilson his first pro loss in the first fight on the main card, defeating him via unanimous decision after three rounds.
Rabadanov earned the win with his ground control in the second and third rounds, taking Wilson down and using these positions to periodically connect with punches.
Wilson’s best round was the first frame, where he put lept forward combinations of punches that connected on Rabadanov.
Wilson was making his lightweight debut in the fight. He had previously earned five wins in Bellator’s featherweight division and moved up a weight class after missing weight for a fight against Adam Borics last year.
Rabadanov scored a brutal win in his Bellator debut last year, stopping Daniel Carey in the first round with punches.
The Rest of the Card
Alex Polizzi closed out an incredibly brutal back-and-forth fight against Jose Augusto Azevedo in the third round, submitting him with a rear naked choke in the opening minute of the round.
Romero Cotton scored a win in his return to the cage, stopping Freddy Sandoval in the second minute with strikes. The fight was Cotton’s first appearance since December 2020.
Diana Avsaragova scored her fifth pro victory on Saturday, working toward a decision over Kyra Batara.
Undefeated super-prospect Cody Law picked up another quick win on Saturday night, scoring a left hook knockout in the first round against James Adcock.
Roman Faraldo showed his dangerous striking skills again on Friday night, dropping Kelvin Rayford with a jab then finishing him with ground and pound.
Hard ground and pound elbows from Jordan Howard earned him a second round finish victory against Trevor Ward.
The card kicked off with one amateur fight, where Nico Alcaraz secured an americana submission over Stanton Ketcherside for his fourth win.
Main Card (9:00PM EST / 8:00PM CST) (Showtime)
Bout 11: Adam Borics def. Mads Burnell via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Phil Davis def. Julius Anglickas via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 9: Johnny Eblen def. John Salter via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Jay Jay Wilson via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (6:00PM EST / 5:00PM CST) (Youtube)
Bout 7: Alex Polizzi def. Jose Augusto Azevedo via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 0:49)
Bout 6: Romero Cotton def. Freddy Sandoval via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:39)
Bout 5: Diana Avsaragova def. Kyra Batara via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Cody Law def. James Adcock via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:17)
Bout 3: Roman Faraldo def. Kelvin Rayford via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:44)
Bout 2: Jordan Howard def. Trevor Ward via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:24)
Bout 1: Nico Alcaraz def. Stanton Ketcherside via Submission, Americana (RD 2, 2:00) (Amateur Bout)
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