CHICAGO – After a memorable return to Chicago BELLATOR 288 is officially in the books.
A partisan crowd was not enough to earn No. 1-ranked Corey Anderson (16-5, 1 NC) his first world championship and a million-dollar grand prize for winning the BELLATOR World Grand Prix. Incumbent light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov (16-2, 1 NC) defeated the Illinois native via unanimous decision to retain the belt and officially punch his ticket to a matchup against Yoel Romero on Feb. 4, 2023 in Los Angeles.
New undefeated champion 15-0 Usman Nurmagomedov
In the evening’s co-main event, No. 1-ranked lightweight Usman Nurmagomedov (15-0) cruised to a unanimous decision win over Patricky Pitbull (24-11), remaining undefeated to start his young career and in the process becoming a world champion for the first time. He will now make the first defense of his newly won title in next year’s BELLATOR Lightweight World Grand Prix
BELLATOR 288: NEMKOV VS. ANDERSON 2 / PITBULL VS. NURMAGOMEDOV MAIN CARD:
C-Vadim Nemkov (16-2, 1 NC) defeated #1-Corey Anderson (16-5, 1 NC) via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
1-Usman Nurmagomedov (15-0) defeated C-Patricky Pitbull (24-11) via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-44)
Timur Khizriev (12-0) defeated #7-Daniel Weichel (42-14) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Daniel James (14-6-1) defeated #5-Tyrell Fortune (12-3, 1 NC) via TKO (strikes) at :27 of round two
Levan Chokheli (11-2, 1 NC) defeated #10-Roman Faraldo (8-1) via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Bellator 288 PRELIMINARY CARD:
Imamshafi Aliev (9-0) defeated Sean Fallon (16-8) via TKO at 3:20 of round one
Killys Mota (14-3) defeated Jairo Pachecho (7-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Archie Colgan (6-0) defeated Jesse Hannam (2-2) via TKO (strikes) at :50 of round one
10-Sullivan Cauley (5-0) defeated Jay Radick (3-1) via KO (punches) at 1:01 of round one
Jordan Newman (5-0) defeated Jayden Taulker (2-3) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:20 of round two
Laird Anderson (3-0) defeated Rob Fenicle (2-3) via TKO (strikes) at 2:28 of round two
Isaiah Hokit (2-1) defeated Matias Nader (3-1) via TKO (strikes) at 3:48 of round two
Wladmir Gouvea (1-0) defeated Kory Moegenburg (2-5) via TKO (strikes) at 1:46 of round two
