Bellator 238 Results- Julia Budd vs. Cris Cyborg

On Saturday, January 25, 2020, Bellator MMA hosted Bellator 238: Budd vs. Cyborg from The Forum in Inglewood, California.

The main event features a much-anticipated title fight, as the Bellator Featherweight title will be up for grabs. Regarded as one of the most decorated female competitors in Mixed Martial Arts history, Cris Cyborg will make her Bellator debut, as she squares off against Featherweight Champion, Julia Budd. The first impression is everything, as Cyborg looks to add another title to her illustrious collection of achievements. In contrast, Julia Budd looks to keep her stronghold over the division that she has dominated for half a decade.

The night’s co-main event will be a quarterfinal match of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix tournament, as Darrion Caldwell goes one-on-one against Adam Borics. Caldwell advanced in the featherweight tournament with a unanimous decision victory over Henry Corrales. At the same time, Borics established his dominance over Pat Curran with TKO victory to earn his place in the quarterfinals bracket.

The remaining main card fights are must-see attractions. Sergio Pettis takes on Alfred Khashakyan, Henry Corrales squares off against Juan Archuleta in a Featherweight match, Raymond Daniels fights Jason King, and in a Women’s Strawweight bout, Ava Knight battles Emilee King.

The main card airs live on DAZN at 10 pm. E.T/ 7pm E.T with two hours of preliminary action starting at 7:30 E.T./ 4:30 p.m PT.

Bellator 238 results below:

Main Card – Exclusively on DAZN– 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Main Card Fighter of the Night (Cris Cyborg): A veteran in the MMA world, Cris Cyborg showed everyone why she is one of the most dominant females in MMA history. Her ability to control the entire bout, while mentally and physically destroying the undefeated champion Julia Budd left many in attendance in amazement, as the awaited the epic finish, which occurred in the fourth round.

Featherweight World Title Bout: Julia Budd vs. Cris “Cyborg”

Round 1:  Cyborg presses the action early with strikes and pressing Budd against the cage controlling in a tight clinch. Budd lands a strike that drops Cyborg, but as she transitions to the ground gets caught in a triangle choke. Budd escapes the triangle and gains side control on Cyborg. As the fight goes back to the stand-up realm, Cyborg lands a cross on Budd following with ground and pound to end the first round in strong fashion.

Round 2: Cyborg aggressively presses Budd against the cage again, following up with striking combos. Cyborgs continue her decimation of Budd tackling her opponent against the cage once more, administering body strikes in the Muay Thai clinch. Answering back, Budd lands two front kicks, jab, and a single leg takedown attempt, which Cyborg defends, as round two comes to a close.

Round 3:  Cyborg utilizes the same cage control strategy in the beginning of the round. Cyborg continues to control the majority of the round with jab, cross, kick combinations, also dominating in side control after dropping Budd with one of the strikes. Cyborg finishes the round in mount position, raining down strikes, as Budd is saved by the bell.

Round 4: Cyborg uses the same strategy dominating Budd against the cage. Aggressively pushing the action, Budd is on the defensive. Cyborg continues her barrage of furious strikes, as Budd crumbles forcing referee Beltran to step in to stop the fight. Cris Cyborg is your new Bellator Featherweight champion.

Cris Cyborg defeats Julia Budd via TKO, Round 4, 1:14

Featherweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal Bout: Darrion Caldwell vs. Adam Borics

Round 1: Both men land inside leg kicks in the beginning stages of the round. The battle continues on the ground, where Caldwell dominates Borics against the cage. Progressing onward, Caldwell takes Borics back, as he is able to secure a short rear-naked choke forcing Borics to tap. Darrion Caldwell advance to the semi-finals of the Featherweight World Grand-Prix tournament.

Darrion Caldwell defeats Adam Borics via submission (RNC), Round 1, 2:20

Featherweight Main Card Bout: Henry Corrales vs. Juan Archuleta

Round 1: There is no engagement between both competitors at the beginning stages of the round. Archuleta attempts to press the action with strikes, but Corrales is defensive in each attempted engagement. This pattern continues throughout the entire round.

Round 2: The “being cautious” pattern continues at the start of Round 2. Archuleta is able to land a mild cross on Corrales with no major damage to his opponent.  Archuleta sets up a similar pattern standing against the cage luring Corrales, where Archuleta counters Corrales strikes, answering back with jabs and crosses. Archuleta ends the round with a double leg takedown, as the round comes to a close.

Round 3: The feeling out process continues, as bother fighters are not committing to the finish. Later in the round, Archuleta does show some aggression, pushing the paces with strikes, as Corrales is on the defensive. Throughout the round, it is a wait and bait game, as the crowd boos in disapproval.

Juan Archuleta defeats Henry Corrales via unanimous decision (29-28) (29-28) (29-28)

Bantamweight Main Card Bout: Sergio Pettis vs. Alfred Khashakyan

Round 1: Both men begin the feeling out process gaging each other’s strikes. Within two minutes into the round, Pettis counters Khashakyan, landing with a right cross that drops Khashakyan. Khashakyan has no clue where he is. Pettis progress, following through with a series of ground and pound, transitioning to a guillotine choke forcing Khashakyan to tap at three minutes in the first round. Pettis is victorious in his Bellator debut.

Sergio Pettis defeats. Alfred Khashakyan via submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 3:00

Welterweight Main Card Bout: Raymond Daniels vs. Jason King

Round 1: Both fighters come out trading blows with Daniels getting the better of the exchange. Daniels hits a combination of two swinging back kicks followed by two right crosses that rocks and drops King. As the fight continues to the ground, King tries for a straight ankle lock attempt, which Daniels effortlessly escapes. Daniels commence punishing King with ground and pound punches from the top, forcing referee Michael Beltran to stop the fight at 3 minutes and 7 seconds in the first round.

Raymond Daniels defeats. Jason King via TKO, Round 1, 3:07

Strawweight Main Card Bout: Ava Knight vs. Emilee King

Round 1: Aware of Knight’s boxing strategy,  King quickly takes the fight to the ground with an arm in guillotine clinch. At this point, King is controlling every aspect of the ground with impressive transitions and submission attempts. King continues her onslaught, as she secures Knight’s back to establish a rear-naked choke for the submission victory.

Emilee King defeats Ava Knight via submission (RNC), Round 1, 2:18

Preliminary Card – Live and free on the Bellator app – 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT

Preliminary Fighter of the Night (AJ Agazarm): While most of the prelim battles featured one diminution fight strategies, the match between AJ Agazarm and Adel Altamimi showcased two competitors looking to put on a showcase and finish the fight. Agazarm was the highlight of the match. AJ has been criticized in the past for his fight strategy. However, in this fight, we saw a different person in the cage. He shows impressive grit surviving Altamimi’s attacks. Down on points in the match, Agazarm was able to make an impressive comeback in the third round, striking back to secure a triangle choke submission for the victory.

160-Pound Contract Weight Preliminary Bout: Joshua Jones defeats Brandon Bender via Unanimous decision,(30-26))(30-27)(29-28)

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Aaron Pico defeats Daniel Carey via Knockout, Round 2, 15 seconds

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: AJ Agazarm defeats. Adel Altamimi via submission (triangle choke), Round 3, 1:22

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Jay-Jay Wilson defeats. Mario Navarro via Submission (armbar), Round 2, 2:48

180-Pound Contract Weight Preliminary Bout: Curtis Millender defeats Moses Murrietta via Unanimous Decision, (30-27) (30-26) (30-26)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Anthony Taylor defeats Chris Avila via Majority Decision (28-28) (29-28)(29-28)

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Miguel Jacob defeats David Pacheco via Unanimous Decision, (30-27)(30-26)(30-27)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Ricardo Seixas vs. Dominic Clark

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Tony Bartovich vs. Jarett Conner