Bellator 225 results: Vitaly Minakov takes out Tim Johnson with vicious KO

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Tim Johnson almost certainly wishes he could have his original Bellator 225 opponent back after Saturday night.

Johnson was supposed to fight on the prelims at. Just hours before his fight against Azunna Anyanwu, he was asked to step into the co-main event against ex-heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov, who had opponent Javy Ayala fall out on fight day. It was almost certainly too big an opportunity to pass on – and Minakov made Johnson pay.

Minakov (22-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) finished Johnson (12-6 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) with a vicious knockout at the 1:45 mark of the opening round, not long after landing a pair of hard slams. Minakov connected with a kick to the body, a straight right, then a brutal one-two combination that turned out Johnson’s lights – and had him on the canvas for several minutes afterward.

The heavyweight bout was the Bellator 225 co-main event at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. It aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Minakov came out swinging, then connected hard with a right. Just 20 seconds in, he dragged Johnson to the canvas. When Johnson popped back up, he was on the bad end of a hard throw back down, then another. But Johnson got back to his feet and bullied his way out of a clinch to get back to the center, where Minakov tried to head hunt again.

And it didn’t take him long to come through. Minakov landed a push kick to the body, then clipped Johnson with a right hand that staggered him. With Johnson starting to fall backward toward the fence, Minakov moved in. He threw a punch that didn’t seem to land, but Johnson already was on his way down to a knee, likely from the previous straight right.

With Johnson on the canvas, Minakov threw an on-the-money right hand that violently threw Johnson’s head to one side. And he followed that up with a perfect left hand that violently threw his head to the other side for a vicious knockout.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 225 results include:

• Vitaly Minakov def. Tim Johnson via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:45
• Alejandra Lara def. Taylor Turner via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:44
• Yaroslav Amosov def. David Rickels – via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 4:05
• Tyrell Fortune def. Rudy Schaffroth via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:08
• Nick Newell def. Corey Browning via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:15
• Connor Dixon def. Kastriot Xhema via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 2:08
• Jon Manley def. Thiago Rela via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:47
• Chris Disonell def. Mike Kimbel via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:54
• Ricky Bandejas def. Ahmet Kayretli via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:21
• Austin Vanderford def. Joseph Creer via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
• Sabah Homasi def. Micah Terrill via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:17
• Aviv Gozali def. Eduard Muravitskiy via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 0:11
• Khonry Gracie def. Oscar Vera via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:50