Fedor Emelianenko is set to face Ryan Bader in Bellator MMA’s Heavyweight World Grand Prix final after the Russian legend earned a technical knockout victory over Chael Sonnen to advance in the tournament.
Emelianenko stopped Sonnen with strikes late in the first round of a back-and-forth tilt that headlined Bellator 208 in Uniondale, N.Y., Saturday night.
It was the second event in as many nights for the promotion. Bellator 207 took place Friday in Uncasville, Conn., with Bader defeating Matt Mitrione in the other semifinal.
Emelianenko knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in 48 seconds in the quarterfinals, while Bader KO’d Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in 15 seconds prior to meeting Mitrione.
Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson picked up a unanimous decision victory over Saad Awad in the night’s co-main event. Heavyweight Cheick Kongo improved to 11-2 in Bellator and picked up his second consecutive knockout win with a 68-second stoppage of Timothy Johnson.
Here are the complete results from Bellator 208:
MAIN CARD
— Fedor Emelianenko def. Chael Sonnen by TKO
— Benson Henderson def. Saad Awad by unanimous decision
— Cheick Kongo def. Timothy Johnson by knockout
— Anatoly Tokov def. Alexander Shlemenko by unanimous decision
— Henry Corrales def. Andy Main by by
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Jeremy Puglia def. Eric Olsen by TKO
— Dennis Buzukja def. Ryan Castro by by
— Andrews Rodriguez def. Mike Diorio by unanimous decision
— Zarrukh Adashev def. Christian Medina by TKO
— Jennifer Chieng def. Jessica Ruiz by TKO
— David Meshkhoradze def. Shaquan Moore by split decision
Tommy Espinosa def. Sukhrob Aydarbekov by submission (armbar)
Nick Fiore def. Jerome Mickle by unanimous decision
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