Bellator 225 was a card full of finishes from start to finish. We finally saw the real conclusion between Mitrione and Kharitonov. We also saw several future stars take their next steps forward in the Bellator cage as well. This article is going to breakdown what’s next for the main card fighters.

Losing Main Card Fighters:

Rudy Schaffroth: Steve Mowry or Hesdey Gerges
Rudy just happened to run into an absolute beast in Tyrell Fortune. Schaffroth was never able to find the range on the feet, and when he landed there was no real affect on Fortune. Schaffroth struggled to defend the leg kicks of Tyrell, and was dropped to the canvas several times by them. He then was dropped with a big right hand, swarmed on by Fortune, and forced to tap from a rear naked choke. Rudy is a good Heavyweight, and shouldn’t be overlooked because of this performance. He simply ran into a buzzsaw who will be contending for the Heavyweight title in the near future.

David Rickels: Logan Storley or Erick Silva
The “Caveman” was another fighter who ran into a young machine tonight. Rickels as usual had an awesome entrance, but was thoroughly dominated by Amosov. Rickels tried to engage on the feet, but was quickly taken down on numerous occasions. Even when he worked his way back up he found himself getting slammed again. He finally left himself open for the D’Arce choke, and had no other option but to tap. Rickels is a real veteran and legend in the Bellator cage. However, he ran into a future title contender, and simply had no way to stop the Amosov train.  I expect him to be a litmus test going forward for young fighters trying to prove themselves.

Taylor Turner: Kennedy Freeman or Denise Kielholtz
Turner quickly lost her hype after this matchup with Alejandra Lara. She was taken down easily early in the fight, and had no answer for the ground control of Lara. She found herself getting beat up in the guard by Lara. She almost escaped and managed to nearly take Lara’s back. However, she was hit with a hard ground strike, and found herself with her back taken with Lara reigning down punches before the referee stepped in. I believe this fight showed that Turner is no where near ready to face the elite women in Bellator, and needs to develop her game more before stepping up again. She is 36 years old, and to be fair may have topped out with her performance against Heather Hardy.

Timothy Johnson: Azunna Anyanwu or Javy Ayala
The veteran did his best to compete after having a last minute opponent change. Johnson was dominated from start to finish in this fight. He was taken down several times, and paid the price for getting back up with numerous slams. He also was overwhelmed on the feet, and was not able to land any significant strikes. He was caught with a hard combination by Minakov, and finished off with a brutal right hand that put him to sleep. It’s hard to critique Johnson when he had been training for a different fighter throughout this camp, but it seemed he was not on Minakov’s level.

Matt Mitrione: Javy Ayala or Tyrell Fortune
Mitrione did very well early on using his speed and quickness to light Kharitonov up. He landed several hard kicks to the body and legs as well. He was walking the Russian down, and was forcing him to back up while eating shots. However, as the fight progressed, we started to see Mitrione get countered as Sergei’s confidence grew. He also had serious issues with his mouthpiece. It kept falling out of his mouth, and “Meathead” complained in between rounds that it was a new mouthpiece that was not fitted. This is a oddity we have become accustomed to happening in the fight game. The gum shield fell out three times in the first round, and Mitrione was warned about a point deduction. In the second round, he was hit with a punch and once again the gum shield fell out. Matt decided to fight on, but was hit with a brutal right uppercut followed by a big knee and ground strikes to close the show. Dan Miragliotta nearly missed the big finish because he was picking up Mitrione’s mouthpiece. I feel that Mitrione lost focus, and honestly was more concerned about the point deduction than Sergei. He paid dearly for this and was finished for his second straight loss in the Bellator cage.

Winning Main Card Fighters:

Tyrell Fortune: Matt Mitrione or Valentin Moldavsky
Another day at the office for Fortune as he continues to dominate in the cage. Fortune only shot for one takedown which shows you how confident he has become standing up. He was very patient with his performance and displayed solid striking defense. He landed several hard leg kicks that buckled Rudy, and his hands looked sharp with real power. He dropped Schaffroth, used swarming ground and pound, and eventually landed the RNC. This was a textbook performance against a real dangerous opponent. Fortune is the real deal, and he needs a step up in competition in order to prove his worth going forward.

Yaroslav Amosov: Neiman Gracie or Jon Fitch
The Ukrainian continues to add to his resumè with another dominant victory over a former title contender. Amosov decided to wrestle tonight, and he was able to takedown the “Caveman” with relative ease. He landed solid punches and elbows on the ground, and never seemed to be in any trouble at any point. He completely manhandled Rickels, and eventually submitted him with a D’Arce choke becoming the first to submit David. It’s crazy to think this kid is only 25 years old, and he made a former title contender look helpless. He is only scratching the surface of how good he can be, and will be a serious problem in the Welterweight division going forward.

Alejandra Lara: Valerie Letourneau or Kate Jackson
The Columbian barely broke a sweat in this fight, and was able to break her two fight losing streak. Lara secured a early takedown, and was able to land some good ground strikes to soften Taylor up. She eventually secured the back and unloaded a barrage of punches to force a stoppage. This was a tremendous bounce back performance after losing against two of the best female’s in Bellator. She proved she is a real force, and deserves to be in the title conversation again in the future. Also credit to Lara for using her platform to spread her message about the Amazon fire crisis. She put herself out there and that takes real courage.

Vitaly Minakov: Sergei Kharitonov or Josh Barnett
Minakov took the last minute opponent change in stride, and showed why he is a real force at Heavyweight. This was a hell of a performance coming off his first professional loss of his career. Minakov had some health issues going into that fight, but looked in perfect form tonight. He landed several big takedowns in the fight, and dropped Johnson with a solid combination. He finished the deal with a brutal right hand on the fallen Johnson that finished the job. Minakov looked like his old self back when he was dominating the Heavyweight division as the champion. He is a real force in this division, and could be a future title contender.

Sergei Kharitonov: Vitaly Minakov or Ryan Bader/Cheick Kongo Winner
Sergei struggled with the speed and footwork of Mitrione early on, but started to gain traction as the fight progressed. He was forced backwards at the start of the fight, but found his range and success with the body shots. He really started to put his punches together at the end of round one. He stayed the course while Mitrione continued to have issues with his mouthpiece falling out. Kharitonov took advantage of this lack of focus and blasted “Meathead” with a right uppercut that badly hurt him. He followed the right with a big knee that knocked him down and finished the deal with some ground strikes. Kharitonov just seemed to be more focused on the task at hand while Mitrione could not overcome his issues with his gum shield. Sergei showed crisp boxing, and was able to take Mitrione’s best shots without flinching. The “Paratrooper” continues to add to his already extensive MMA record beating one of the best Heavyweights Bellator has to offer.

Photo Credit: https://www.mmafighting.com/2019/8/25/20831582/bellator-225-results-sergei-kharitonov-knocks-out-distracted-matt-mittrione