Fight Facts: Bellator 248 and Bellator Paris

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR FIGHTS: 2,771
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 250

Bellator MMA became the first major organization to hold an event in France when it put on Bellator 248. Although the promotion unnecessarily split the card into two sections, several smashing results came out of it. The event featured the first Japanese necktie submission in company history, a perfect flying knee with the post-fight celebration to match and sweet revenge for a rising heavyweight contender.

Un Moment S’il Vous Plait No major MMA promotion had ever put on a card in France until Bellator came to town. The sport was recently legalized at the beginning of 2020, although many events still considered MMA took place inside the country’s borders before this card or the MMA Grand Prix with slightly different rulesets.

Avant Kongo, Après Kongo Timothy Johnson exacted a modicum of revenge by beating Cheick Kongo in front of the latter’s home crowd by split decision. The loss was Kongo’s first in over five years, and at that time, the only other fighter from Bellator 248 that was on the roster at that time was Michael Page.

Neuf, C’est Bien: Kongo’s unbeaten streak ended at nine with his loss to Johnson. Only four other heavyweights had even set foot in the Bellator cage that many times: Eric Prindle, Alexander Volkov, Tyrell Fortune and Javy Ayala.

Poids Lourd Historique: The appearance was Kongo’s 16th as a Bellator heavyweight, far and away more than any other fighter mentioned above. Ayala is the next closest with 11.

Bon Retour: A veteran of 44 MMA bouts, Kongo made his first appearance in his home country when facing Johnson. The Frenchman has competed in other combat sports in France, notably a few kickboxing and muay Thai matches including one against KSW vet Marcin Rozalski several years ago.

Atterrissage a 10 Points: Scoring a first-round knockout with flying knee, Yves Landu separated Terry Brazier from his consciousness. The Frenchman earned the third flying knee knockout as a Bellator lightweight, and all three of those have taken place in the opening round.

Genou Volant: With Landu’s flying knee knockout in the books, each of the last five years have seen at least one flying knee stoppage inside the Bellator cage. There were none in 2015.

Victoire ou Mort: Needing the full three rounds to beat Dominique Wooding, Fabacary Diatta remained undefeated at 7-0 with the win. Four of the Frenchman’s last five bouts have reached the scorecards.

Ou Êtes-Vous Allé? Jean N'Doye returned after a nearly seven-year absence from the sport to drop a decision to Ciaran Clarke. When N'Doye last competed in Oct. 2013, seven fellow Bellator 248 competitors had yet to make their professional debuts.

Pas de Canette de Tomate: Page earned his 14th under the Bellator banner by taking a decision over Ross Houston. Only David Rickels (15), A.J. McKee (16) and Michael Chandler and Patricio Freire (18 each) have won more times with Bellator.

Truc Japonais: Oliver Enkamp pulled off the first Japanese necktie submission ever seen in the Bellator cage when he tapped Emmanuel Dawa in the first round. It is just the second across all major MMA organizations – the first came in 2015 when Matheus Nicolau tapped Bruno Rodrigues Mesquita with one at UFC Fight Night 177.

Allo Alan: A first-round knockout of Ryan Scope extended Alan Omer’s win streak to six, and the Iraqi fighter has finished his last five opponents. The victory lifted Omer’s finish rate to 87 percent.

C’est à Moi: Submission specialist Mads Burnell – famous for landing multiple Japanese neckties throughout his career – earned his first career knockout when he finished Darko Banovic in just over three minutes.

Ne Jamais Dire Jamais Encore: Coming into Bellator 248, Johnson had never headlined in a major promotion (11 fights in the UFC and Bellator); Ross Houston had never been defeated (nine fights); and Brazier (14 fights), Wooding (nine fights) and Maguy Berchel (15 fights) had never lost consecutive bouts.