Fight Facts: Bellator 275 ‘Mousasi vs. Vanderford’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR FIGHTS: 3,061
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 277

Bellator MMA shipped off to Dublin for the second time in a handful of months, chock full of Irish fighters looking to make statements. The end result saw most of the locals getting their hand raised, but no competitor made a larger impression than the defending champ. Bellator 275 featured a 185-pound wrecking machine earning his 40th finish, an active featherweight that punched her ticket to another title shot and a massive betting favorite leaving little doubt of his skills.

Crystal Records Shattered: Across the 13-bout offering, six competitors came into Bellator 275 sporting undefeated records with more than three fights under their belt. Of those six, only half escaped with their records intact, while 11-0 Austin Vanderford, 8-0 Khurshed Kakhorov and 5-0 Danni McCormack all suffered knockout losses.

The Underrated: Gegard Mousasi blew through challenger Austin Vanderford in 85 seconds to keep an iron grip on his middleweight strap. As a pro, “The Dreamcatcher” celebrates a finish rate of 82%, while recording his fastest stoppage since he dispatched Dan Henderson in 70 seconds at UFC on Fox 14 in 2015.

Keep on Crushing Dreams: Throughout his career that spans nearly 20 years, Mousasi has now recorded 32 wins in the first round. This total accounts for 80% of his finishes, as he notched his 40th victory by stoppage when he wrecked Vanderford.

Will the UFC Call? Combining his two title reigns, Mousasi now holds three defenses of his belts. In doing so, he ties former foes and ex-champs Rafael Carvalho and Alexander Shlemenko for the most championship defenses in Bellator middleweight history.

Good Luck With Cyborg Again: Stepping into the Bellator cage for the 10th time, Sinead Kavanagh became the fourth woman – joining Arlene Blencowe, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Julia Budd – to compete at least 10 times with the organization.

Contender Killer: As she had her hand raised for the fifth time by claiming a unanimous decision over Leah McCourt, Kavanagh ties four other women including McCourt for the seventh-most victories among women to fight under the Bellator banner.

Luck of the Irish: Ciaran Clarke moved to 5-0 as he prevailed by doctor stoppage over Aboubakar Tounkara when Tounkara dislocated his shoulder at the end of the first round. All five of his triumphs have taken place inside the Bellator cage, and it was his first win to come earlier than Round 3.

Familial Dominance: Khasan Magomedsharipov ran roughshod over Jose Sanchez to win a three-round unanimous decision, thereby improving his spotless record to 7-0. It marked just the second time in his career that he had fought beyond Round 2.

Don’t Bother With the Odds: Closing as a gargantuan -1375 favorite, Magomedsharipov won as the biggest betting favorite so far this year in Bellator. The last fighter with odds that level or higher was Johnny Eblen, who wrecked Collin Huckbody while favored at -1650 in December 2021.

An American in Dublin: Across three rounds, Jornel Lugo handled Brian Moore to win a decision on all three judges’ scorecards. The Florida native is a perfect 8-0 since making his pro debut in 2019, although five of his last six bouts have gone to the aforementioned judges.

Welshly Arms and Fists: Spoiling the undefeated ledger of Kakhorov, Brett Johns put the Tajikistan-based fighter away with strikes in the third round. The Welshman earned his first knockout since May 2013, when he stopped James MacAlister at a Cage Warriors event. At that time, only five of the other 25 competitors on the card had yet to make their professional debuts.

Flooding by the Gallon: After the midpoint of Round 2, Davy Gallon drummed Charlie Leary out with punches. The knockout was his fifth across his 29-fight career, and he has amassed all five throughout his last 10 outings.

French Fried: Earning the first win of the night against an Irish fighter, Stephanie Ielo Page decimated McCormack in less than two minutes. The Frenchwoman had never seen any of her past fights conclude in the opening round, with her quickest result at 8:13 in her first career finish in 2015.

Istanbully: For the first time in his career, Gokhan Saricam fought beyond 8:17 of a fight. The previous seven outings for the heavyweight out of Istanbul ended within this margin, and he won a decision over Kirill Sidelnikov on this fight card.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into Bellator 275, McCourt (seven fights) and Sanchez (11 fights) had never lost on the scorecards, Tounkara had never dropped consecutive bouts (nine fights) and Saricam had never gone the distance (seven fights).