Bellator 125 Results Recap: Melvin Manhoef Manhandles Marshall

Bellator 125 went down tonight (Fri., September 19, 2014) from the Save-Mart Center in Fresno, California, and featured a main card filled with exciting fights and finishes.

Knockout striker Melvin Manhoef took on Doug “The Rhino” Marshall in the middleweight main event. Marshall came out with his movement high, snapping a kick before eating a huge left hand. Some kicks were traded and the action was halted by a low blow to Marshall.

Manhoef teed off with some big right hooks, but Marshall backed him up with a combination. Manhoef went to his trademark leg kicks, snapping some hard ones to Marshall’s outside leg. He followed it up with a massive right hand over the top, instantly felling the “Rhino” to boos from the California crowd. Here’s a GIF of the incredible knockout courtesy of GfyCat:

Rafael Carvalho squared off with Brian Rogers at middleweight. The fight was a war, with Carvalho landing some solid strikes only to see Rogers return fire and get a takedown to go for a guillotine choke. Carvalho used his crisp kickboxing to damage Rogers, landing some big knees and kicks before finishing him with a flurry of punches.

Javy Ayala took on Raphael Butler at heavyweight, with Ayala getting a big takedown and quickly securing a rear naked choke of his own to score the main card’s second straight submission.

Goiti Yamauchi softened up Martin Stapleton with a grappling clinic, taking his back and locking on a fight-ending rear naked choke in the final minute.

Bellator 125 Full Results:

Main Card:

Melvin Manhoef def. Doug Marshall via R1 KO (1:45)

Rafael Carvalho def. Brian Rogers via R1 TKO (3:06)

Javy Ayala def. Raphael Butler via R1 submission (rear-naked choke, 1:03)

Goiti Yamauchi def. Martin Stapleton via  R1 submission (rear-naked choke, 4:37)

Preliminary Card:

Jesse Juarez def. Ron Keslar via unanimous decision (29-28 X3).

Chris Honeycutt def. Aaron Wilkinson via R2 TKO (4:45)

Julio Cesar Neves def. Poppies Martinez via R1 TKO (2:16)

George Zuniga def. Granson Clark via R1 TKO (0:34)

Jonny Bonilla-Bowman def. Art Becerra via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Matt Ramirez def. Oscar Ramirez via R1 submission (armbar, 0:42)

Joe Neal def. Paul Ruiz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)