Advertisement

Bellator 268 results: Corey Anderson blasts Ryan Bader in quick TKO win, advances to grand prix final

PHOENIX – Corey Anderson punched his ticket to the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix final.

The Bellator light heavyweight contender ran through Ryan Bader in the semifinal of the tournament, which served as the co-main event of Saturday’s Bellator 268 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. The main card aired on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Anderson (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) defeated Bader (28-6 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) via first-round TKO, needing just 50 seconds to dispatch him. Anderson is set to take on the winner of Vadim Nemkov vs. Julius Anglickas, which goes down on the main event of the card.

It was a quick and vicious performance by Anderson.

“Overtime” quickly put the pressure on Bader, as soon as the bell rang and didn’t let his foot off the gas. In an early exchange, Anderson dropped Bader with a right hand and then followed up with a non-stop pour of strikes on the ground. Bader did his best to scramble out of danger, but Anderson eventually overwhelmed Bader and forced the referee to call off the fight.

Anderson had defeated Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov to advance to the semifinals of the grand prix after his debut in Bellator in late 2020, a TKO win over veteran Melvin Manhoef. Anderson is 7-1 in his past 8 performances. His only defeat during that run is to current UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.

Meanwhile, Bader entered Bellator 268 coming off a decision win over Lyoto Machida in the quarterfinals back in August 2020. Prior to that, he had suffered a TKO defeat to Vadim Nemkov where he lost his Bellator light heavyweight belt. Bader has now suffered two defeats since joining Bellator in 2017.

The up-to-the-minute Bellator 268 results include:

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

More Bellator