At Friday night’s Bellator 130 event, TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley (11-2) faced off with Karl Etherington (9-0) in a heavyweight bout. Going into the fight, Lashley had gone 4-0 since 2013, while Etherington has won all of his fights in the first round.
For the second straight fight, Lashley was not sponsored by TNA.
Lashley got hit with a low blow early, but was able to continue. The fighters would clinch up, and a slip by Etherington as he went for a throw was the end for him. Lashley immediately attacked from the back, and landed with the ground and pound to secure the quick victory. The official decision was Bobby Lashley via RD 1 (1:31) submission due to strikes.
Lashley moves to 12-2 in MMA, and 2-0 in Bellator. The heavyweight division is not exactly stacked in Bellator, so Lashley could move into a heavyweight title fight. If not, James Thompson is under contract to Bellator. He is 20-14 in MMA, and holds a victory over Lashley.
Vitaly Minakov (14-0) is the current Bellator Heavyweight Champion. He is 5-0 in Bellator, and won the title in November of 2013 from Alexander Volkov via KO. He has one title defense, which was a five round unanimous decision victory over Cheick Kongo.
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