Douglas Lima snaps four-fight losing skid, defeats Costello Van Steenis at Bellator 296
Bellator MMA returned to us today, May 12, 2023, for Bellator 296, going down live from the Accor Arena in Paris, France.
Headlining the event is a 185 lb showdown between former two-time Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi (49-8-2) and UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards’ little brother, Fabian Edwards (11-2).
Co-headlining the event is a lightweight bout between former Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus (11-3) and former M-1 Challenge & BAMMA lightweight champion Mansour Barnaoui (20-4).
Our feature fight of the evening came in the middleweight division showcasing former three-time Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima (33-11), who is returning to 185 lbs to face a fellow finisher in no. 10 ranked Costello Van Steenis (14-3).
Lima came into the bout in desperate need of a victory, having lost his last four-straight fights, while Van Steenis came in on a two-fight win streak, having gone 8-1 over his last nine.
Continue reading to see how this middleweight encounter went down:
Official Result: Douglas Lima def. Costello Van Steenis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lima opens up the bout with those vicious leg kicks of his he’s notoriously known for, but Van Steenis does a good job of matching them and landing some nice leg kicks of his own.
Van Steenis secures a momentary double leg takedown in the final 30-seconds of the opening round, though Lima is right back to his feet and they end the round clinched up against the cage.
Lima starts to really pick Van Steenis apart in the second, continuing the attack with his leg kicks, and ulitizing good punches throughout. He stuffs another takedown attempt from Van Steenis, pressing him into the fence to land some good knees to the leg, before Van Steenis puts Lima on his back in the final 40 seconds of the middle stretch.
Lima lands another beautiful leg kick followed by a nasty right hand early on in round three that badly hurts Van Steenis, though the Dutchman stays tough and secures another takedown not long thereafter.
Lima is right back to his feet however, and the remaining two or so minutes were quite even and uneventful.
Former multi-time Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima snaps his four-fight losing skid today at Bellator 296 with this victory over Costello Van Steenis.
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