Patchy Mix held on to his Bellator bantamweight title at Bellator Paris, but his rematch with Russian contender Magomed Magomedov proved to be significantly tougher than the first.
Mix defeated Magomedov via second-round guillotine choke in their first meeting at Bellator 289 in December 2022, but the rematch saw Magomedov prove Mix’s equal through five closely-contested rounds as the pair battled all the way to the judges’ scorecards.
But despite Magomedov’s improved display, he was unable to prevent Mix taking the honours again, with the American retaining his title via split decision, with scores of (48-47, 46-49, 48-47).
Doumbe delivers another highlight-reel moment
In the co-main event of the evening, Cedric Doumbe arrived for his walkout with a vacuum cleaner, then dusted Jaleel Willis in less than a round to emphatically return to winning ways.
Doumbe’s perfect record was ruined by a shard of glass in Paris last time out as he lost via a technicality against Baki Chamsoudinov. But against Willis he returned to knockout form as he showcased his all-round MMA development before turning to his bread and butter, his hands, to finish the job three and a half minutes into the fight.
Willis charged in looking for takedowns, but Doumbe showed some smart defence, and even when he was taken to the mat, he did well to work his way back to his feet.
Then, with the pair standing in the centre of the Bellator cage, Doumbe let his hands fly to drop his man, then finished the job with ground strikes to score his latest crowd-pleasing finish.
REDEMPTION IN PARIS FOR "THE BEST" 🔥
Cédric Doumbé stops Jaleel Willis in the first round and sets up a matchup with Anthony Pettis! 👀#BellatorParis | LIVE NOW
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Best of the rest…
Also on the main card, Dutch middleweight contender Costello van Steenis showcased his finishing ability with a second-round Von Flue submission of Frenchman Gregory Babene, while French lightweight Yves Landu earned a split-decision victory over Brazil’s Jonas Bilharinho.
The main card opened up with another three-round battle, as Archie Colgan dominated Thibault Gouti to earn a shutout win on the cards.
The preliminary card saw decision victories for Slim Trabelsi and Aspen Ladd, while England’s Mike Shipman defeated compatriot Steven Hill via first-round TKO stoppage after an unrelenting barrage of knees and ground and pound at the end of the round. After Hill told his corner he couldn’t see as a result of the onslaught, the fight was waved off with Hill still on his stool.
There were also two French winners on the preliminary card, with Mansour Barnaoui claiming a D’Arce choke finish of Yusuke Yachi, while former striker turned MMA fighter Asael Adjoudj added another win to his increasingly impressive record via second-round knockout.
Bellator Paris: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Patchy Mix def. Magomed Magomedov via split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47) – for Bellator bantamweight title
- Cedric Doumbe def. Jaleel Willis via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:33
- Costello van Steenis def. Gregory Babene via submission (Von Flue choke) – Round 2, 2:16
- Yves Landu def. Jonas Bilharinho via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Archie Colgan vs. Thibault Gouti via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Slim Trabelsi def. Louie Sutherland via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Mansour Barnaoui def. Yusuke Yachi via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 4:08
- Mike Shipman def. Steven Hill via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 5:00
- Aspen Ladd def. Ekaterina Shakalova via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Asael Adjoudj def. Bruno Fontes via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:11
A sports editor and MMA reporter with 25 years' experience in sports media, Simon has covered mixed martial arts since 2009 for a host of national and international outlets, including UFC, BBC Sport, MMA Junkie/USA Today, BT Sport and the Daily Mirror.