Fight Facts: Bellator 299 ‘Eblen vs. Edwards’

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: 3,384
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 302

Bellator MMA made its regular bi-annual trip to Dublin with an overstuffed fight card that brought fewer than usual local combatants. History was made during the action-packed lineup, as a record number of arm-triangles landed during the loaded show. Bellator 299 featured mixed results for siblings of famed fighters, a lone Georgian taking on an entire team and heavyweight spinning like a much smaller man.

Kata Gatames for Days: Across the 20-fight lineup, three different bouts ended via arm-triangle chokes. This sets the new record for a single Bellator event, as no more than two had taken place at any past show.

Drama and Danger in Dublin: Of the 20 bouts on the billing, 13 of them ended via stoppage, not counting the no contest. This single-event total is the most since Bellator 234 in 2019, which also featured 20 matchups.

Still Just -318 Odds: Four different combatants all closed with betting lines above -1000: Aaron Pico, Ciaran Clarke, Khasan Magomedsharipov and Darragh Kelly. All four favored fighters prevailed by stoppage.

Little Brothered the Little Brother: Demolishing Fabian Edwards in the third round, Johnny Eblen advanced his pro record to 14-0 while registering the second defense of his middleweight throne. He is the fourth 185-pound champ to achieve this feat, joining Alexander Shlemenko, Rafael Carvalho and Gegard Mousasi.

Chasing McKee: From April 2015 to April 2022, A.J. McKee maintained an 18-fight win streak. Eblen joined the roster in 2019 and has since won 10 in a row, which ties multiple fighters including Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Michael Page for the second-longest in organizational history.

He’s Got a Beard: Clubbing Pedro Carvalho to force a stoppage in just over three minutes, Pico put further distance between his injury defeat in 2022. The 27-year-old now holds 10 stoppages across his 12 career wins, although his two wins on the scorecards have come across his last five outings.

No Relation to Phil: Still early into her career, Sara Collins elevated her record to 5-0 by claiming a decision over Sinead Kavanagh. On the other side of the equation, Kavanagh suffered her sixth defeat under the Bellator banner. She, Alejandra Lara, Arlene Blencowe and Veta Arteaga all hold the top spot for the most defeats of any female Bellator fighter.

Drake Out: After a decision loss to Mads Burnell, Daniel Weichel called it a career after 57 professional MMA bouts. The 38-year-old from Germany previously held the M-1 Global lightweight strap in 2011, and after winning Bellator’s Season 10 tournament at 145 pounds, “Drake” ended up fighting for the belt. The two-time title challenger celebrates wins over names including Pat Curran, Desmond Green, “Frodo” Magomedrasul Khasbulaev and Dennis Siver among many others across his storied tenure.

Gave Randy Couture Flashbacks: To produced an instant contender for “Knockout of the Year,” Levan Chokheli annihilated Sabah Homasi with a front kick in under two minutes. His was the second front kick knockout in company history, with the first by Ricardo Seixas against Dominic Clark at Bellator 238 in 2020.

ATT Hunter: Since his loss to Goiti Yamauchi in 2022, Georgia’s Chokheli has won three straight fights. All three triumphs in Roman Faraldo, Michael Lombardo and Homasi train at American Top Team.

All Those Chants for Nothing: Peter Queally struck Daniele Miceli with an illegal soccer kick just 26 seconds into their encounter to force a no contest. This marks the second fight-ending soccer kick foul in promotional history, as Jonas Billstein was disqualified for such a strike against Herbert Goodman in 2011 at Bellator 58.

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Ward: With a finish rate now up to 87%, Gregory Babene throttled Charlie Ward with a 63-second guillotine choke. Each of the last 10 wins for the Parisian fighter has come by stoppage.

Clarke Calling: As a massive betting favorite, Clarke handled Przemyslaw Gorny en route to a submission victory. The Irishman has still yet to see a fight end before the bell of the first round, win or lose.

No Lucanator, No Problem: In the opening frame, Luca Poclit tapped Faraldo with a brabo choke. Across all Bellator fights, two-thirds of all brabo chokes have taken place in Round 1, with the other third in the second stanza.

A Famous Younger Brother: After opponent Piotr Niedzielski missed weight, Magomedsharipov went on to submit him in the second round. The 22-year-old kept his unbeaten record intact with nine wins and zero defeats, while seven of those have come by stoppage.

Cashed Out: Kelly mauled Jelle Zeegers late into the third round to record the victory. Now 5-0 as a pro, the “Moville Mauler” has earned finishes in four of those, and both of his knockouts have taken place in Round 3.

Otto Feel Pretty Good: Otto Rodrigues has now won 13 fights in a row following his submission of Brian Moore. The Brazilian last tasted defeat in 2008.

He Killed Kenny: Springing the upset against Kenny Mokhonoana, Josh O'Connor picked up a decision win over his Irish counterpart. It marked the first time the undefeated O’Connor had ever heard the final bell as a professional.

Roman Rampage: Roman Debienne needed 39 seconds to blaze through Nicolo Solli and put himself on a six-fight win streak. Win or lose, seven of the last eight fights for Debienne dating back four years have concluded by knockout.

Big Man Can Move: A first among Bellator fighters, Sergey Bilostenniy pulled off a spinning wheel kick knockout of Kasim Aras. The heavyweight has seen eight of his 11 pro wins come by knockout, and seven of those eight occurred in Round 1.

From Scotland with Love: Scotland’s Mark Ewen ran roughshod over fellow 4-0 fighter Noah Gugnon to earn the stoppage in Round 2. Ewen has yet to reach a third round in his five pro fights.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into Bellator 299, Edwards (14 fights), Faraldo (nine fights), Aras (nine fights) and Solli (six fights) had never been finished; Ward had never been submitted (16 fights) and Mokhonoana (five fights) and Gugnon (four fights) had never been defeated.