Fight Facts: Bellator 300 ‘Nurmagomedov vs. Primus’

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: 3,400
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 303

Bellator MMA put on a tentpole event that suffered multiple main card hiccups on fight week. The action could be considered less than memorable when all three defending champs kept iron grips on their titles. Bellator 300 featured a championship grudge match that wasn’t, a double-weight miss and an unprecedented challenger issue at 125 pounds.

Big 300: Bellator staged its 300th numbered event on Oct. 7 and ran its 3,400th fight – not counting the separate Monster Energy Series operating from 2014 to 2018. Due to cancelations, non-numbered cards and combined shows in the early years, this marked the 303rd Bellator event.

No Sweat: Across the 16-fight billing, four combatants closed as massive betting favorites of -1000 or higher. All four fighters – Usman Nurmagomedov, Cristiane Justino, Bryce Meredith and Josh Hokit – won convincingly by stoppage or clear-cut decision.

A Million Dollars Loom: By staving off Brent Primus across five lopsided rounds, Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title for the second time. He becomes the third Bellator 155-pound champ to record multiple successful defenses, joining Michael Chandler and Will Brooks.

The Other Nurmagomedov: Winner by decision, Nurmagomedov lifted his spotless pro record to 18-0. The Dagestan native has only heard the final bell on four occasions, with three instances in the Bellator cage.

Tamed the Cat: In just over four minutes, Cris Cyborg blazed through challenger Cat Zingano to defend her featherweight strap for the fifth time. No other female fighter in company history has achieved this feat.

Soon to be Six: The five straight defenses for Justino check in as a Bellator record among all fighters to hold a strap. Patricio Freire pulled this off during his 145-pound reign from 2017 to 2021, while Vadim Nemkov celebrates four defenses and a retention in his current run as the light heavyweight king.

Rampaging Through the Records: Since making her company debut in January 2020, Justino has notched six victories as a featherweight. Only seven women in Bellator history have prevailed more times; two that exceed Justino’s total did so earlier on the card.

Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board of Steel: While Justino trails Leah McCourt’s seven, Arlene Blencowe’s eight and Julia Budd’s nine victories in the division, her five finishes put her atop the pedestal in that weight category.

Small-Pond Fisherwoman: Seventeen seconds into the fifth round, Liz Carmouche stopped friend Ilima-Lei Macfarlane with a leg kick to retain her flyweight belt. Carmouche’s six stoppages racked up put her one below divisional record-holder Macfarlane for the most.

Misery: Carmouche’s Round 5 finish is the sixth in that championship round of any Bellator fight. Two other combatants to pull this off competed at this card, Macfarlane and Cyborg.

One for Every Day of the Week: Debuting with Bellator in 2020, Carmouche has recorded six finishes and now can celebrate a stoppage in all five rounds. She is the first fighter in the organization’s history to achieve this distinction.

Not Again: Macfarlane missed 1.6 pounds ahead of their matchup and was ineligible to win the title if she prevailed. This is Carmouche’s second time that she has battled an overweight challenger and received a title retention for her win, an occurrence not seen in any other major MMA organization.

One for Ukraine: In one of the postlim matches, Dmytrii Hrytsenko topped Justin Montalvo by decision to improve his young record to 9-0. The Ukrainian has gone the distance three times as a professional, which accounts for his last three outings.

A Live +1200 Underdog: Bryce Meredith outworked Miguel Peimbert to earn a win on the scorecards. “Misfit” went the distance for the first time as a pro, as he had never fought beyond 1:04 of the third round in his first four matches.

I Miss, You Miss, We All Miss: A rarity for Bellator, Bobby Seronio III and Alberto Garcia missed weight for their 135-pound pairing. The organization allowed Seronio to inform his opponent he would be heavy, to let Garcia stop cutting while still considering it a bantamweight match and not at a catchweight.

Good Luck with Cyborg: McCourt scored the upset by pounding out Sara McMann in the first round. The 31-year-old from Northern Ireland is now one of seven ladies in company history to pick up seven wins.

A Minor Dispute on His Record: Sergio Cossio tapped Jesse Roberts with a late triangle choke in a mighty comeback effort. The Durango, Mexico, representative has earned finishes in 93% of his pro bouts, including seven stoppages in his last eight wins.

The Hawaiian Outdueled the Cowboy: “The Fighting Hawaiian” Kai Kamaka III outhustled Henry Corrales to claim a unanimous verdict. The 808 Fight Factory product has earned 10 of his 12 pro wins on the scorecards while reaching the third round in each of his last seven outings.

Slim Chance: Slim Trabelsi stayed undefeated courtesy of an injury suffered by opponent Davion Franklin. The Tunisian heavyweight has seen two-thirds of his pro fights conclude via knockout.

Bishop Takes Stark: At age 37, Jena Bishop boosted her professional record to six wins with zero defeats following an armbar of Ilara Joanne. The IBJJF World Champion has either prevailed by first-round submission or decision across her career.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into Bellator 300, Macfarlane had never been finished (15 fights), Franklin had never been knocked out (seven fights) and Lorrany Santos (seven fights), Montalvo (six fights) and Romero Cotton (seven fights) had never lost on the scorecards.