Jason Jackson staked his strongest claim yet for a shot at the Bellator welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over former three-time champion Douglas Lima at Bellator 283 in Tacoma, Washington.
Jackson pitched a shutout on the scorecards, defeating Lima 50-45 on all the cards to earn a dominant victory and position himself for a possible shot at the newly-crowned welterweight champion – and Sanford MMA teammate – Logan Storley.
The co-main event saw a quickfire finish for Tofiq Musayev, who needed just 27 seconds to defeat Sidney Outlaw in their lightweight contender bout.
Musayev’s win potentially puts him on a collision course with former foe and current Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull, who Musayev defeated in the final of the Rizin FF lightweight grand prix in 2019.
Now the Azerbaijan fighter could be set to face Pitbull again, this time with Bellator gold up for grabs.
The event also saw an impressive finish for Usman Nurmagomedov, who defeated Chris Gonzalez via first-round guillotine choke, while Brazilian heavyweight Marcelo Golm also picked up a submission victory as he defeated Davion Franklin via third-round rear-naked choke.
Bellator 283: Official Results
MAIN CARD
- Jason Jackson def. Douglas Lima via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
- Tofiq Musayev def. Sidney Outlaw via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:27
- Usman Nurmagomedov def. Chris Gonzalez via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:54
- Lorenz Larkin vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov ruled a no contest (illegal elbow) – Round 1, 2:52
- Marcelo Golm def. Davion Franklin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:36
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Dalton Rosta def. Romero Cotton via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:38
- Veta Arteaga def. Vanessa Porto via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:47
- Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Bobby King via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Akhmed Magomedov def. Kevin Boehm via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:16
- Roman Faraldo def. Luis Iniguez via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:42
- Jaylon Bates def. Mark Coates via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
- Arhie Colgan def. Bryan Nuro via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:15