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TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR FIGHTS: 2,364
TOTAL NUMBER OF BELLATOR EVENTS: 222
Bellator MMA on Saturday brought its European Series to Birmingham, England, with a main card that delivered -- and then some. Bellator Birmingham “Primus vs. Wilde” featured the first gogoplata submission in the organization’s history, a knockout you have to see to believe and an elusive stoppage from upkicks.
SHORT AND DELIGHTFULLY SWEET: The four-bout main card at Bellator Birmingham contained 12:17 of combined fight time. This totaled less than half the time of the main event alone for its rival promotion on the same night at UFC Fight Night 151.
SOMETIMES MORE IS LESS: With 18 total fights throughout the night, this event tied three others for the second-most MMA bouts scheduled in Bellator history. Only Bellator 199 (19) had more.
NOW YOU’RE JUST SHOWING OFF: Brent Primus tapped out Tim Wilde with a gogoplata in the first round, securing the first such submission in company history.
UPKICKS CERTAINLY DON’T FINISH FIGHTS: By dispatching Falco Neto Lopes with upkicks and follow-up punches, Fabian Edwards became the first fighter in Bellator history to score a knockout using upkicks. Across major promotions, the only fighters to earn a knockout from upkicks are Jon Fitch (vs. Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night 5 in 2006) and Gegard Mousasi (vs. Ronaldo Souza at Dream 6 in 2008).
FAMILY OF FIGHTERS: Edwards remained unbeaten in his seventh career bout by knocking out Lopes, and he has finished his opponent in six of those seven appearances. His lone decision came against fellow event competitor Lee Chadwick.
MAMMA MIA!: Raymond Daniels faked a spinning kick to throw what could be described as a “Tornado Punch” or “720 Punch” to knock out Wilker Barros cold. The spectacular finish gave him his first win as an MMA fighter; the Bellator Kickboxing welterweight champion has knocked out at least eight opponents with spinning strikes across his kickboxing career.
KIMURAVISION: By tapping out Amir Dadovic in the first round with a kimura, Yannick Bahati earned the fifth such submission in Bellator’s light heavyweight division. More kimuras have been pulled off there than any other, with no more than two at any other weight class.
KNOCK ON WOODING: Dominique Wooding finished David Khalsa in the first round with punches and picked up his sixth win, all of which have resulted in knockouts.
EVERYTHING ZEN: In submitting Mohammad Yahya with a rear-naked choke, Gavin Hughes recorded his 10th career victory. He has stopped his opponent in nine of those 10 fights, all within the first two rounds.
WHEN YOU GOT A JOB TO DO, YOU GOT TO DO IT WELL: John Nicholls came in 1.6 pounds heavy for his lightweight bout against Daniel Cassell, and Nicholls lost by first-round knockout. In the last 10 Bellator fights where one fighter came in over the weight limit, those fighters are 1-8-1.
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, TERRIBLE!: Kieran Lister and Constantin Gnusarev fought to a contentious split draw, the fifth in Bellator history. It is only the second event in which the first fight on the card ended as a draw, joining Bellator 131 in 2014.
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN: Coming into Bellator Birmingham, Yahya had never been submitted (six fights), Craig Turner had never been defeated (seven fights) and Nicholls had never been knocked out (six fights).
Sherdog contributing editor Jay Pettry is an attorney and a statistician. Writing about MMA since he started studying the “Eminem Curse” in 2012 and working for Vice Sports and Combat Docket along the way, he put together many fight result and entrance music databases to better study the sport. You can find him on twitter at @jaypettry.