Bellator 285 results, highlights: Henderson dominates Queally, Romero finishes Manhoef

See what happened at Bellator 285 on Friday afternoon. 

Bellator returned to the 3Arena in Dublin on Friday with some solid fights at Bellator 285.

Benson Henderson dominated Peter Queally for a unanimous decision in the main event. ‘Smooth’ dealt with an aggressive start from the ‘Showstopper,’ who rushed across the cage and fired off a few punches that backed Henderson up. Undeterred by the blitz, the former UFC lightweight champion answered with kicks and began pursuing takedowns. Pinned up against the cage, Queally ate a few knees to the thigh before getting to his feet again and separating from Henderson.

Things took a painful turn in the second round, as Henderson threw an inside leg kick that landed in the nether region of Queally, who fell to the canvas in pain. After using most of the allotted time for the foul, Queally was ready to go again, but not before referee referee Kevin MacDonald docked a point from Henderson. Once in the center of the cage, Henderson went for a takedown.

It much of the same between the third and fifth rounds, with Henderson getting Queally down and peppering the side of his head and body with punches. To the surprise of no one, Henderson swept the judges’ scorecards for a unanimous decision. In his post-fight interview with ‘Big’ John McCarthy, the MMA Lab product called for another championship opportunity against the winner of Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire and Usman Nurmagomedov.

Yoel Romero retired Melvin Manhoef with a third-round KO in the co-main event. The ‘Soldier of God’ relied heavily on his wrestling to ground ‘No Mercy’ for the majority of the first round, scoring with submission attempts (a keylock, to be exact) and raining down elbows until time expired. The second round is different, as Romero and Manhoef opt to keep it standing and exchange punches and kicks. Romero found success upstairs, while Manhoef focused on trying to chop down the legs of his opponent.

Because he was so successful in the wrestling department, Romero returned to it and got Manhoef down again. This time, the feared KO artist postured up and connected with several elbows, with the final two putting Manhoef to sleep. That is the second consecutive win for Romero, who also dispatched Alex Polizzi at Bellator 280 this past May. As for Manhoef, the MMA veteran announced his retirement after nearly 30 years of fighting.

Leah McCourt defeated Dayana Silva by unanimous decision. The ‘Curse’ stuck and moved her way to a win against the Brazilian, who struggled a bit in the beginning to find McCourt during the striking exchanges. However, once Silva connected, she left some damage around the eyes of McCourt, which were swollen by the end of 15 minutes.

Pedro Carvalho upset Mads Burnell and handed the Danish fighter his second consecutive loss. Most of the contest was spent on the ground, where the SBG Ireland star shined in the scrambles. Perhaps the most significant moment of the fight was when Carvalho had Burnell up against the fence and unloaded a barrage of knees that had referee Bryan Miner taking a close look at the action.

Ciaran Clarke and Karl Moore survived nearly being finished in their respective fights against Rafael Hudson and Karl Albrektsson. Both men were hurt early, but waged comebacks in the form of rear-naked chokes.

Here are the full results and highlights from Bellator 285:

Main Card Results:

Benson Henderson def. Peter Queally by unanimous decision (49-45 x3)

Yoel Romero def. Melvin Manhoef by KO (ground-and-pound) at 3:34 of Round 3

Leah McCourt def. Dayana Silva by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Pedro Carvalho def. Mads Burnell by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Ciaran Clarke def. Rafael Hudson by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:50 of Round 3

Karl Moore def. Karl Albrektsson by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:36 of Round 2

Preliminary Card Results:

Brian Moore def. Arivaldo Lima Silva by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Brett Johns def. Jordan Winski by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Darragh Kelly def. Kye Stevens by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Kane Mousah def. Georgi Karakhanyan by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Kenny Mokhonoana def. Alex Bodnar by technical submission (guillotine choke) at 2:42 of Round 1

Asael Adjoudj def. Jordan Barton by KO (head kick, punches) at 2:49 of Round 1

Luca Poclit def. Dante Schiro by technical submission (Lucanator choke) at 4:31 of Round 2