C-Sergio Pettis (22-5) defeated Kyoji Horiguchi (29-4) via KO (spinning backfist) at 3:24 of round four
Sergio Pettis: “I came out here and got beaten up for four rounds. When it happened, I was just like, ‘Man I am losing this fight. I’ve got to do something spectacular.’ It (the decisive punch that ended the fight) came at the right time.”
“I needed to face some adversity, and tonight Horiguchi gave me all of that. It was hard trying to time his rhythm, trying to get his movement down.”
“My coaches always tell me, ‘If you open up, you could be one of the best in the world.’ That what I’m pushing for.”
#9-Jeremy Kennedy (17-3, 1 NC) defeated #4-Emmanuel Sanchez (20-7) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jeremy Kennedy: “I can’t seem to find it. My coaches got mad at me in my last fight. I’ve got an atomic bomb. That’s what my coach said. It’s a 100-mile (per hour) fastball. I’ve got to use it. Last fight, I didn’t. I wanted to try and mix it up, change my style. I was competitive, but I had to get back to my roots.”
“I would have liked to have mixed it up a bit more, but (Emmanuel) Sanchez is in your face the whole time. It was hard to dictate that calculated range. He just came right at me.”
“I put a lot of pressure on myself. I had a close friend pass away. He was in my corner for my last few fights. I didn’t want to go home with a loss. I didn’t want to take any extra chance. I wanted to win every single exchange. I wanted to win every second, every moment of this fight. I didn’t care what that looked like. I had to get the ‘w.’ “
“Next time, I am going to get back to having fun and find that happy medium. This one is for Boom. I had to get my hand raised at all costs. I wasn’t coming out of this without a win.”
#7-Josh Hill (21-4) defeated Jared Scoggins (10-2) via KO (punch) at :56 of round two
Josh Hill: “This one was about timing. We knew the first round would be hard to get that timing down. He (Jared Scoggins) was very jumpy, in and out. That (punch that ended the fight) was right on the button.”
“I belong there (in the Bellator MMA World Grand Prix). I know this division is stacked, so I understand (why he wasn’t included). I want in. If there are any injuries or pull outs, I’m your man.”
“I saw him (Scoggins) go down and knew he was out. There was no point to keep going.”
“He (Scoggins) is very traditional, karate-esque. My coach and I worked on timing quite a bit. I knew the first round might be a little tricky. I landed a punch in the first, but it wasn’t on the money. The one in the second (that ended the fight) was.”
#5-Johnny Eblen (10-0) defeated Collin Huckbody (10-4) via TKO (punches) at 1:11 of round one
Johnny Eblen: “I wanted to send that dude (Huckbody) to the metaverse. Sadly, I could not do that tonight. I was I could have put on a better show, but it is what it is.”
“John Salter, I signed a bout agreement to fight you in Florida, but you [expletive withheld] out. I don’t know if you got hurt, or you [expletive withheld] out. But I want to see you in this [expletive withheld] cage, John. Let’s gear up and let’s get after it.”
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Alexander Shabliy (21-3) defeated Bobby King (10-4) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kai Kamaka III (9-4-1) defeated John de Jesus (14-10) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Levan Chokheli (10-1, 1 NC) defeated Vinicius de Jesus (9-5) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Justin Montalvo (4-0) defeated Jacob Bohn (10-8) via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Mike Hamel (8-5) defeated Killys Mota (12-3) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Spike Carlyle (13-3) defeated Dan Moret (15-7) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:58 of round three
Kyle Crutchmer (8-1) defeated #10-Oliver Enkamp (10-3) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Please visit Bellator.com for additional information.