Rafael Lovato Jr. upset the applecart in the Bellator London main event at the SSE Arena on Saturday, using his legendary grappling ability to stifle Gegard Mousasi over 25 minutes to claim the promotion’s middleweight title.
Lovato Jr. dominated the opening two rounds. He made no secret of his intent to take the fight to the ground, and Mousasi seemed to have no answer for his crushing pressure over the first 10 minutes. However, the defending champion regained some momentum in the third when he was able to take top position and land some big, grounded strikes.