Bellator 280: A rough night for the Brits in Paris
Jordan Barton took Fabacary Diatta's "0" in Paris, France, but it was a difficult night for the other Brits on the card at Bellator 280.
It was a rough night for the British contingent as the Bellator cage returned to European soil for Bellator 280, in Paris, France.
The Accor Arena in Paris played host to a packed night of fights in the French capital, where five British fighters returned to action. But just one of that group, featherweight Jordan Barton, was able to come away from the event with a victory added to his record.
In the main card opener, former BAMMA middleweight champion Mike Shipman was finished in the first round by French veteran Gregory Babene, who threatened to submit him in the opening seconds of the fight, then eventually stopped the Englishman via knockout later in the round.
Gavin Hughes suffered a first-round TKO defeat at the hands, and feet, of Yves Landu, who used his knees and body kicks to good effect to earn the stoppage after three minutes of their preliminary card bout.
There was heartbreak, too, for Charlie Leary, who must have thought he'd done enough to defeat former Cage Warriors champion Soren Bak in their 160-pound contract weight bout.
Leary, who stepped in on just two weeks' notice to replace Saul Rogers against Bak, appeared to win the first two rounds, before Bak finally found success with his wrestling in the final frame.
But, to the surprise of many watching, including Bellator analysts John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, Bak was awarded the unanimous decision with scores of 29-28, 30-27, 29-28.
The one bright spot on the preliminary card for British fans came courtesy of featherweight Jordan Barton, who dropped, then outworked Fabacary Diatta to hand the Frenchman the first defeat of his professional career.
Again, there was concern after the final bell when it became apparent that the judges were split on the verdict. But Barton breathed a big sigh of relief as his hand was raised after he took the victory with scores of 28-29, 29-28, 29-28.
Also on the preliminary card, Welsh welterweight Lewis Long engaged in a bloody back-and-forth battle with France's Thibault Gouti, but ended up with a broken nose and a loss on his record after losing a unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
Bellator 280: Selected Results
Gregory Babene def. Mike Shipman via knockout (punches) β Round 1, 2:11
Thibault Gouti def. Lewis Long via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Soren Bak def. Charlie Leary via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Jordan Barton def. Fabacary Diatta via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Yves Landu def. Gavin Hughes via TKO (body kick) β Round 1, 3:01
Photo: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA