Matt Mitrione came out victorious out of Roy Nelson match up that was a part of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix. The former UFC fighters clashed hard – with Mitrione edging out a victory. At one point in round 3 Nelson secured an early takedown and advanced to a mounted crucifix and pounded Mitrione for the better part of the round. However it just wasn’t enough. One of the judges gave Nelson a 10-8 third round, scoring the fight a draw, but the other two awarded the win to Mitrione with scores of 29-28 . Mitrione suffered a first-round knockout loss to Nelson in December 2012.

 “That was a fight that was tough,” Coker said in the press conference. “I could’ve seen if it went to an extra round. But for the most part, I just sat there and watched it as a fan. I wasn’t writing down every round and monitoring every second of the fight like a judge would. To me, it was entertaining. Matt’s legs really impressed me – not just his kicking ability, but here’s a guy moving around like he’s 25 years old. So I thought he did a good job.”

“Bader and ‘King Mo’ are both wrestlers of a high level. Either one of them will be a challenge for anybody. Matt’s a great fighter, Bader’s a great fighter, ‘King Mo’ is a great fighter. It’s going to be fun to watch. We have this tournament, and it’s an all-year-long affair, and it’s just getting better and better and better.”

Matt Mitrione def. Roy Nelson via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Patricky Freire def. Derek Campos via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:23
Heather Hardy def. Ana Julaton via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Vadim Nemkov def. Liam McGeary via TKO (injury) – Round 3, 4:02
Tywan Claxton def. Jose Perez via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:39