Bellator 161 Results: Cheick Kongo Picks Up Decision Victory Over Tony Johnson

It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Friday, September 16th, 2016) will come from in the form of Bellator 161. Headlining the card are Cheick Kongo and Tony Johnson, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the rest of the main card.

Cheick Kongo and Tony Johnson met in a heavyweight bout in the main event of Bellator 161. A solid main event, which saw Kongo dominate. In round 1, they come out and clinch right away. Johnson kneed Kongo in the nuts. The fight was paused and then back on. Kongo took him down with 30-seconds to go. He got full mount and rained down some big strikes to Johnson to end the round. In round 2 Johnson took him down right away and got his back. Johnson worked him over with strikes and locked in the rear-naked choke, but Kongo stayed in and put up some good submission defense. In round 3, Kongo scored a takedown, and the fight really stayed there the entire round. Kongo was in half guard and worked him over with strikes and elbows. All Kongo. Kongo was given the decision victory.

Joe Warren and Sirwan Kakai met in in a bantamweight bout in the co-main event of Bellator 161. In round 1, Kakai comes out and wants to take the fight to the ground right away. They clinch up against the fence but Warren put up some good defense. Warren stuffed a takedown and got on top. Warren got back mount but Kakai got back to his feet and they clinch on the fence. Kakai landed some knee strikes. In round 2, Warren clinched with him and got on his back while standing and went for a rear-naked choke but let it go. They went back to striking. Warren clinched with him midway through the round and landed some knees. Warren took him down and went for another submission but couldn’t get it. In round 3, Kaki shot in for a takedown right away but got got and Warren caught him with a guillotine choke for the win.

Anastasia Yankova and Veta Arteaga met in a women’s flyweight bout at Bellator 161. In round 1, they just out firing. Arteaga dropped her twice within the first minute, but Vankova got back to her feet. They had a wild exchange and Vankova clinched with her up against the fence. Vankova landed a good combo while getting out of the clinch. Arteaga continued to land big shots. Vanakova is very durable. In round 2, once again, they came out firing. Yankova clinched with her and pressed her up against the fence and landed some shots. Arteaga pushed her off, and they meet in the middle of the cage. In round 3, more of the same in this round. Vankova was clinching and landing her damage in this position. Artega slowed down in this round, and Vankov came alive as the round went on. The judges gave Artega the win by split decision.

Opening the Bellator 161 main card on Spike TV is Derek Campos vs. Djamil Chan in a lightweight bout. This was a solid bout but nothing special. In round 1, they have a good exchange for the first few minutes of the ground. Chan dropped him with a right uppercut and tried to finish him on the ground but Campos got back to his feet and started throwing wild shots. Campos recovered. Chan shot in for a takedown with just seconds to in the round but couldn’t get it. In round 2, Campos came out aggressive and was pressing the action. Campos pushed him up against the fence and threw some good combos. Chan was looking to counter strike in this round. Campos got a late round takedown and landed minimal shots on the ground, but still effective. In round 3, Campos pressured him then took him down. Campos smothered him on top in half guard and beat him down for the majority of the round. Chan got to his feet with just seconds to go and started throwing bombs. Camps shot for a takedown to end the round but was stuffed. The judges gave the win to Campos by unanimous decision.

Here are the results for this event:

Main Card: (Spike – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)

Cheick Kongo def. Tony Johnson via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Joe Warren def. Sirwan Kakai via submission (neck crank) (R3, 1:04)

Anastasia Yankova def. Veta Arteaga via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Derek Campos def. Djamil Chan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary Card: (Bellator.com – 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)

Garrett Scott def. Waylon Bronstrup via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:50

Emily Ducote def. Kenya Miranda da Silva via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:37

Daniel Pineda def. Mark Dickman via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:07