Liverpool lightweight Terry Etim easily controlled and beat Patrick Cenoble in his Bellator debut last weekend.
In his first post-Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) appearance, Etim was originally set to reignite his career with the world’s second largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion under their first ever pay-per-view offering.
However, with that event cancelled due to injury, Etim’s match-up was pushed back by a week.
The Scouser wasted little time getting the fight to the floor and immediately set up in Cenoble’s guard.
From there, he swiftly passed the guard and looked to take the back before securing mount as his opponent rolled.
Cenoble defended well and escaped mount, but Etim simply transitioned again to the back, where he spent the remainder of the opening round.
Etim had similar success in the second, taking the fight to the floor with ease. Cenoble showed capable grappling defense as he repelled Etim’s submission attempts, but he also failed to offer anything in terms of a counterattack.
The fight played out in a similar fashion on the third, with Etim securing a dominant position and remaining in complete control of the action until the final bell.
The crowd didn’t necessarily appreciate the lack of action, but Etim dominated from start to finish. One judge scored the fight 29-28, while the remaining two judges gave far vastly different scores of 30-27 and 30-26.
The win takes Etim’s MMA record to 16 wins, 14 by stoppage, with five defeats and no draws.
Despite not being one of the more spectacular fights in MMA history, nor his own career, Etim will be looking to rebuild his reputation and possibly get a title shot against Eddie Alvarez, widely considered as the best lightweight outside the UFC.
Etim is joined in the Bellator ranks with fellow Liverpudlian and UFC veteran Paul Sass, Martin Stapleton and other fighters who train in the world renowned Kaobon Gym in Liverpool.