This weekend’s Bellator event feels like a primer for what comes next week. In 8 days Bellator will pack the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The show will have a Heavyweight battle between Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, and also a Champion versus Champion bout in the Middleweight division when Gegard Mousasi faces Rory MacDonald. But until then, we have this card to view. Live from Boise, Idaho in the Centurylink Arena, the main event is a Featherweight battle between John Macapa and the still undefeated A.J. McKee. Below them on the main card was three other fights.
The main card began with Patricky Pitbull versus Roger Huerta in a Lightweight bout. Pitbull got rocked early in the first round, but recovered while answering back with strikes of his own. Pitbull really knew when to pick his spots when it comes to stand up fighting. Huerta really picked up the pace at the end of the round. With around 25 seconds left in the first, Pitbull got a takedown. At the start of the second round Huerta got dropped with strikes. Somehow, Huerta held on for 10 more seconds before the ref waved it off. By the time round one was halfway through you could tell that this fight would not be going the whole 15 minutes.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Pitbull | 9 | |||
| Huerta | 10 |
Continuing on with the main card was Veta Arteaga versus Denise Kielholtz in a Flyweight bout. Arteaga had the crowd behind her since she was billed from Boise. Kielholtz seemed to want to keep it standing up in the first round while Arteaga went for a takedown many times. In the second round Arteaga got her first significant battle on the ground. After Kielholtz unpredictably shot for a takedown, while getting back up Arteaga was able to get a Guillotine. After fully locking in the standing Guillotine, Kielholtz tapped to end the fight. After the fight Veta said that she thinks that she deserves a title shot.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Arteaga | 9 | |||
| Kielholtz | 10 |
In the co-main event slot tonight, the undefeated Middleweight Rafael Lovato Jr. fought John Salter. The first round was purely stand up, which came as a shock because of how much the grappling of these two fighters was hyped up. In the second round, Lovato Jr. dropped Salter then went down for a Guillotine. Interesting how they stayed standing for so long with no desperation for ground game until there was a necessary moment to go there. The final few minutes of the round had the grappling that was billed for the bout. More than halfway into the third round, Lovato was wailing away on Salter while on the ground. Lovato Jr. got a submission in after repeated ground and pound to make Salter tap. After the fight, Lovato Jr. asked for a title shot after the fight. His post-fight interview/promo was very good.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| Lovato Jr. | 10 | 10 | ||
| Salter | 9 | 9 |
The main event of the evening was John Teixeira versus A.J. McKee. It’s a 23 year old undefeated fighter in McKee versus Teixeira, a fighter at age 31 with much more experience under his belt. Early in the first round there was an amazing catch of a spinning back kick from Teixeira. Only moments later, Teixeira got dropped by a left hand to end the bout very early. McKee did not have to land any more strikes after just the one. McKee wins and improves his undefeated streak to 12-0. Like many others on this show, McKee asked for a title shot in his post-fight interview. This wrapped up Bellator’s final show before they make their DAZN exclusive debut on their Saturday night broadcast next week.
My Scorecard:
| Fighter | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| McKee | ||||
| Teixeira |
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