2017 started off with a bang, as Paul “Semtex” Daley (39-14-2) secured the 29th knockout victory of his MMA career, destroying Brennan Ward (14-5) in the co-main event of Bellator 170: Ortiz vs. Sonnen. The finish occurred at the midpoint of the opening round; Daley found enough space within the Ward’s clinch to launch a spinning-elbow, rocking Ward, before leaping through the air with a flying knee, immediately sending Ward to the realm wind and ghosts.
The win was Daley’s first since his unanimous decision loss to Douglas Lima last July, Ward on the other hand loses the momentum gained after knocking out Saad Awad in November.
Over in Vienna, Niko Gjoka (12-11) and Dan Konecke (9-9) were flown out as last minute replacements on ACB 52: Aguev vs. Kincl. AVT bantamweight Gjoka controlled Paulo De Sousa (13-11) for the entire 15-minutes, coming painstakingly close to snapping up an armbar in the dying embers of the contest.
Konecke’s trip to the Austrian capital would not be as memorable, as he was overwhelmed with strikes in the second round of his bout with Turkmenistan’s Doveltdzhan Yagshimuradov (12-5-1). Gjoka’s win was his first in over two years and ends a two-fight losing streak, whilst Konecke’s two-fight win-streak comes to a halt.
Mike Grundy (9-1) inched closer towards a UFC call-up by defeating Shooto lightweight champion Yutaka Saito (12-3-2) in a non-title affair. Grundy, of Team Kaobon, smothered Saito with his wrestling, winning a dominant unanimous decision. The win increases Grundy’s win-streak to six, Saito meanwhile loses consecutive fights for the first time in his career.
