Timur Khizriev remains undefeated, out-classes Daniel Weichel at Bellator 288
Bellator MMA returned to us tonight, November 18, 2022, for Bellator 288, going down live from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
Headlining the event was a championship encounter between Bellator light-heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov (15-2, 1 NC) and no. 1 ranked Corey Anderson (16-5, 1 NC), a rematch from their first affair that happened earlier this year in April.
Co-headlining the card was also a title bout, this one coming at 155 lbs between Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Freire (24-10) and no. 1 ranked Usman Nurmagomedov (15-0).
Our feature fight of the evening came at 145 lbs between two-time title challenger, no. 7 ranked German talent Daniel Weichel (42-13) and 27-year-old Russian stud Timur Khizriev (11-0).
Continue reading to see how this featherweight encounter went down:
Official Result: Timur Khizriev def. Daniel Weichel via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Khizriev opens up the bout with some nice front kicks up the middle, and it’s evident early on that he’s the much faster party of the two.
Weichel lands some nice punches in the first round, but Khizriev’s timing and counters have worked well for him throughout the first five minutes.
Weichel is unable to get anything going in the middle stretch, as Khizriev begins to pull away on the striking totals. His attack is diverse, he’s more active, and he’s been more accurate thus far through ten minutes.
Weichel goes for a head kick and ends up on his back for a moment, but aside from that there hasn’t been much wrestling from either side in this bout.
Just as we were thinking that, Weichel creates a scramble in the beginning of the third and final round and takes Khizriev’s back. He tries to sink in a rear naked choke, and he comes close to securing an armbar, but Khizriev’s defense holds up and they’re back to striking.
Weichel lands a beautiful flying knee in the final minute of the third and final round, but is unable to finish the fight and they went to the judges scorecards.
Timur Khizriev improves to 12-0 tonight with this victory, as he wins his Bellator debut against a former two-time title challenger. He’ll certainly find his spot in the top ten of the division following this bout.
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