It wasn’t pretty but Joey Beltran did enough to retain his heavyweight title in the BKFC 18 main event.
Following a tough opening round, Beltran made the necessary adjustments to put forward pressure on Sam Shewmaker, closing the distance and hurting him with punches from the inside to do enough to secure the victory on the judges’ scorecards.
After five, greuling rounds, the judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 with Beltran getting the unanimous decision.
Following the win, Beltrain explained why he wasn’t at his best on Saturday night despite holding onto his BKFC title.