#8-Daniel James (15-6-1) defeated #7-Marcelo Golm (10-4) via TKO (punches) at :26 of round three
JAMES QUOTES: “Man, the gameplan was to come out, wait for him to throw those kicks [then counter]. The boy’s got some heavy kicks, I’m not gonna lie. I was so focused on countering him, I lost sight of what I should have been doing, so I had to pick it up.”
“This is everything I expected. I’m on a winning streak of five. Just like I planned. I feel like right now, you’ve seen me in the toughest situations in the fight. Right now, in my career, there’s no such thing as losing. I’m confident.”
“My leg will be healed. I heal fast. You can’t have nothing in Chicago without me; people are already buying tickets. It’s in June. Chicago will wait for me, so we’ll be there… I walked out to the Chicago Bulls theme song; that’s song’s going to play every time I walk out from now on out.”
“I shut them up, those people that said [my main event was undeserved]. Those people aren’t really MMA fans. They aren’t fans. I fan is someone who studies the arts, who watches fights from all different [promotions]; BELLATOR, the UFC… You’re a believer now. How could you not like that? How could you not like what I did [in there]?”
“I don’t care what round it is, what rounds I’m winning. I just need to win one. It doesn’t matter how many rounds somebody wins; I knocked him out. [My coach] said knock him out. He just said, ‘Knock him out.’”
“Tonight was an ass-whooping. He said, ‘I respect him. He’s a good fighter, but I’m a better fighter.’ I’m not the fighter who’s going to talk smack. But at the weigh-ins, when I look you in the eye, the talk is over. I’m a nice guy. I smile. But when I stop smiling, it’s over. And I handed out an ass-whooping tonight.”
#1-Cat Zingano (14-4) defeated #4-Leah McCourt (7-3) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
ZINGANO QUOTES: “I respect her a lot. I know she respects me a lot. As soon as it’s over, it’s like the embrace gets to happen. I know how hard I worked; I know how hard she worked. We went to war. I like her, I respect her, I think she’s a badass and a very worthy opponent.”
“I knew I did a lot more damage than her. When she got into good positions, she didn’t do much, and when I got into good positions, I did a lot. It was a big adjustment for me, her being so tall. When I kicked, I was aiming above my heard, which kind of took my feet out from under me. I think she did a good job, and I did a good job. At the end of the day, I think it came down to damage.”
“I’d like to keep momentum. Too much time in between fights feels kind of weird. It can be tricky. Ideally, it would be cool if [a title fight came] within the next six months.”
#3-John Salter (19-6) defeated #7-Aaron Jeffrey (13-4) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
SALTER QUOTES: “I knew I was done. I’m 38. I’ve been competing at a pretty high level since middle school, and it’s just a lot of intensity. I’m ready to move on. It’s time to move on and do other things, run my gym, and it was a real blessing to have a fight like that with someone of that caliber. It would’ve been nice to have an easier fight, but if you think I wanted to lay there and squeeze him for that long, that isn’t what I wanted to do. It’s kind of funny. I slipped on my takedown [in the third round], and I just kind of ended up with that body triangle. I just told myself, ‘If Joe Solecki can do it, I can do it for the rest of the round.’ I was able to stick with it.”
“I don’t know if you’ve ever been hit by Aaron Jeffery, but it did not make me want to go out there and keep standing with him. He was just a stud everywhere and never tired throughout the fight. I have no doubt that Aaron Jeffery’s going to be a top two or three guy in a year or two.”
“I started my career [as an underdog]. I would just travel, going to people’s hometowns, and beat them up. I’ve done that my whole career. I’m kind of surprised my ranking was higher than his and I was the big underdog, but it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, it matters what I can do.”
“The only way that I come back is if Costello Van Steenis wins the title and wants to fight me again. I know he really wants that fight back. I lost a few years off my life in that fight, but I’ll do it again if he has the title.”
“I never wanted people to remember me as a fighter. I wanted people to remember me as a man that follows Christ and supports my family however I can, and I hope that’s the legacy I leave.”
Archie Colgan (7-0) defeated Justin Montalvo (5-1) via TKO (strikes) at 3:33 of round one
COLGAN QUOTES: “It went as expected. I think I probably would’ve rather spent more time on top, but I think a lot of people in MMA think of it as taking them down and controlling them is the win. But I got exactly what I wanted out of that takedown; [Justin Montalvo] got up, had to respect the takedown, then I got the right-hand finish.”
On Being a Wrestler but Scoring KOs: “There’s a reason why they decided to put me on the main card.”
On His Message to the Division: “What you saw tonight. I can wrestle. I’ll take you down. If you choose not to respect the wrestling, you’ll regret it. If you choose not to respect the striking, you’ll regret it. And people haven’t seen it yet, but if you choose not to respect the grappling, you’ll regret it.”
On Winning After Montalvo’s Pre-Fight Trash Talk: “It felt good for a few reasons. The way he got chippy to me, it felt good to get that one back. The way he was talking about one of my teammates, who I look up to, I didn’t respect that. I had to go out there and put a stamp on him, and I did. Who’s smiling now?”
Luke Trainer (7-1) defeated #9-Sullivan Cauley (5-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:58 of round one
TRAINER QUOTES: On His Post-Fight Marriage Proposal: “Holly, soon-to-be Trainer, she is my person. She’s everything to me. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to do it. None of her friends are I thought, live TV on SHOWTIME… I’m going to make a very happy husband. She’s the love of my life. I wanted to do that because I wanted to make my girl feel special. I know she’s going to be mad at me because she was a blubbery mess, and she would’ve preferred to do that without BT Sport and SHOWTIME Sports taping. I knew bringing her into the cage would [make her feel special], so I did just that.”
“I’m going to be dead-honest with you, this is the most nervous I’ve been for a fight. I had to learn how to manage my fear for this fight. The gameplan has gone to a ‘T.’ I’ve been finishing so many people from the back in this camp. I knew if I stayed calm, [Sullivan Cauley would] make mistakes. He hadn’t been in a dogfight. All he was saying was that I’ve got nothing but being tall; I’ve got bad jiu jitsu, bad striking. He’s going to come back stronger. My dad is a proud veteran, and he does a lot for [veterans], so I respect the guy. But I got the W tonight.”
“I learned from my loss. He’s going to learn from his loss. He could be a champion one day: he’s young, he’s hungry, he’s a savage. Tonight was my night. I was ready to die in there. When I tell you I was ready to go out with my shield or on it… I hope people keep underestimating me.”
“I’m in no rush. What I want next: once I’ve handled my business outside the cage, Simon Biyong. You are a savage. Nothing but respect. Whether we do it in Scandinavia… you’re the only person to defeat me, and I want that one back.”
“My family comes first. Once we figure out the battle that’s coming up, I want the rematch with Simon Biyong — all due respect, you’re a savage, but that wasn’t me that night. I’m making zero excuses, you were the better man that night, but I want to get that back.”
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Rakim Cleveland (23-15-1) defeated Christian Edwards (5-3) via submission (guillotine) at 3:55 of round three
Mike Hamel (10-5) defeated Nick Browne (13-3) via TKO (strikes) at :42 of round one
Adam Piccolotti (14-5) defeated Mandel Nallo (9-3) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:26 of round three
Sara Collins (4-0) defeated Pam Sorenson (9-6) via submission (scarf hold armlock) at 2:43 of round one
Jeff Creighton (7-3-1) defeated Joey Davis (8-1) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
#10-Lucas Brennan (8-0) defeated Josh San Diego (9-5) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:14 of round one
Vladimir Tokov (9-2) defeated Lance Gibson Jr. (7-1) via KO (punch) at 1:02 of round one
Randi Field (4-1) defeated Ashley Cummins (7-7) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Bryce Meredith (3-0) defeated Brandon Carrillo (2-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:00 of round two
MacKenzie Stiller (1-0) defeated Maria Henderson (1-1) via submission (armbar) at 3:17 of round
For more information on upcoming BELLATOR MMA events, visit BELLATOR.com.
