Fight Facts: Bellator 264

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: 2,937
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 266

Bellator MMA circled back to the Mohegan Sun Arena for a one-off event before starting its globetrotting excursion to sites like England, Russia and Ireland. The truncated show brought a few rare upsets high on the bill, a rarity for an organization that has seen all chalk on recent main cards. Bellator 264 featured a middleweight destroyer who already has his next opponent set, the new winningest welterweight in company history and a heavyweight with a sketchy record getting wrecked.

The Moose is Loose: Gegard Mousasi overwhelmed John Salter to defend his middleweight crown. In doing so, the first man to hold the 185-pound strap on two different occasions is now the first in Bellator history to successfully defend it for both reigns.

The Dreamcrusher: The high finish rate of Mousasi lifted with his knockout of Salter, putting it at a stellar 81 percent across a career that dates back to 2003. “The Dreamcatcher” now celebrates 39 finishes – over twice as many as his opponent held in total wins – since starting off with 13 stoppages in 13 wins from 2003 to 2006.

Championship Aspirations Loom: Capturing a decision over Sabah Homasi, Andrey Koreshkov became the winningest welterweight in Bellator history as he earned his 14th win under the Bellator banner. He and former foe Douglas Lima were previously tied for the lead.

The Tournament Belongs to Raufeon: Raufeon Stots cashed in as a +305 underdog to win a decision over Magomed Magomedov, and thereby extended his career-long win streak to nine. The last, and only, loss that “Supa” has suffered came against Merab Dvalishvili in 2017 by spinning backfist.

Loose Lines Sink Ships: Stots is the seventh betting underdog with a line above +300 to score an upset in the Bellator cage this year. In comparison, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has staged nearly triple the number of fights that Bellator has put on, and only three such upsets have taken place in the Octagon.

What Took Him So Long: In just 21 seconds, Davion Franklin blitzed Everett Cummings with an oblique kick and some punches to record the stoppage. “All Day” notched the sixth-quickest finish in Bellator heavyweight history in victory, with the fastest Ryan Bader’s 15-second drubbing of Muhammed Lawal in 2018.

New Developments at JW: Still early in his pro career, Franklin maintains four wins with zero defeats after smashing Cummings. The Jackson-Wink prospect has yet to go the full 15-minute distance, with his decision a technical one against Ras Hylton.

Gladiator Challenge Gonna Gladiator Challenge: Cummings, a two-time Bellator vet with a record of 15-0 and a no contest with 15 finishes, suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Franklin. Entering this meeting with Franklin, Cummings had beaten only four foes with winning records, and the 15 men he conquered combined for a paltry record of 46-59.

Not the Bestaev Decision: Khadzhimurat Bestaev snagged a contentious decision over Ty Gwerder on the prelims, and in the process, earned the first win on the scorecards in his career. His previous 10 victories had all come by stoppage under the 6:10 mark.

Big John Hated the Fight: Former Invicta Fighting Championships featherweight champ Pam Sorenson crossed over to Bellator for the first time to take a split decision over Roberta Samad. In victory, “Bam” reduced her career finish rate to 22 percent, with just one stoppage win dating back to late 2016.

Catchweight Calamity: The night began with a pair of catchweight contests when Jonathan McNeil defeated Orlando Mendoza at a 195-pound scheduled bout, and Jeffrey Glossner beat Sebastian Ruiz at 142 pounds. Bellator 264 became the first event since Bellator 197 in 2018 to start off with two catchweight fights.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into Bellator 264, Magomedov had never lost a three-round bout (19 fights), Cummings had never competed outside of California (16 fights) and Bestaev had never fought beyond the second round (14 fights).