Bellator 208 Results: Fedor vs. Sonnen
Bellator 208 took place on October 13, 2018, at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The card was headlined by the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal between Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen, with the winner advancing to meet Ryan Bader in the tournament final.
The Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal opened with Emelianenko dropping Sonnen in the first exchange. Sonnen briefly got to Emelianenko’s back, but Emelianenko finished the fight with punches on the ground at 4:46 of Round 1. The win sent him to the final against Ryan Bader.
The co-main event saw former UFC lightweight kingpin Benson Henderson face Saad Awad. Henderson emerged victorious, defeating Awad via unanimous decision. His performance, as well as his post-fight interview where he was vocally critical of the Khabib-McGregor post-fight fiasco, caught the attention of fans and professionals worldwide.
Cheick Kongo stopped Timothy Johnson by knockout at 1:08 of the first round, finishing the bout with ground-and-pound. Kongo was not part of the Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament.
Henry Corrales defeated Andy Main by knockout with punches at 2:08 of the third round.
The event was not without its controversies. During the weigh-ins, three fighters – Jamal Pottinger, Frank Buenafuente, and James Gonzalez – came in heavy, leading to the cancellation of the Buenafuente/Gonzalez bout.
The event had a lot of MMA media, fighters, and numerous celebrities tuning in, and the reactions were largely positive. The world was both impressed with Benson Henderson’s win and annoyed with his post-fight speech. Meanwhile, there was nothing but love and praise for Cheick Kongo after his stupendous knockout win.
Emelianenko’s semifinal win advanced him to the Heavyweight Grand Prix final against Ryan Bader. Bellator 208’s main-card results also included unanimous decisions for Henderson and Anatoly Tokov, plus first-round knockouts by Kongo and Emelianenko. See MMA Fighting’s full Bellator 208 results, and read our Bellator 209 recap for the next event in the series.
Sources
MMA Fighting's full Bellator 208 results; Event results record.
Article Tags
Bellator, Bellator 208, Mixed Martial Arts
