The night belonged to Yaroslav Amosov, who like many of his Ukrainian countrymen and women, made Dublin his home.
After 27 months away from the cage, the reigning Welterweight champion looked as good as ever as he pieced apart interim titleholder Logan Storley. The pair met once before three years ago, when Amosov handed the American the first loss of his professional career.
Defeat number two game by way of Unanimous decision as Amosov turned in one of the most impressive championship performances you will ever see.
READ MORE: Bellator 291 - recap and full results from the 3 Arena
After months on the battlefield, Amosov seemed at ease with being inside the cage. He danced around the ring landing shots at will and by the end of the first round, it was clear that Storley was up against it.
That Amosov kept up this pace and continued to pepper shots all night long is a true testament to his unbelievable skill. When the final bell mercifully sounded and the judge's scorecards were read, Amosov was declared the winner by 50-45, a scoreline that honestly flattered Storley.
For the Irish, it was a mixed bag all round. While Brian 'The Pikeman' Moore and Richie Smullen picked up good wins in the early bouts, Charlie Ward struggled and beaten comfortably by Mike Shipman.
The main card opened with Ciarán Clarke taking on Leandros Sinis. The 3Arena burst into life when the Drogheda native made his way to the cage, signifying the 27-year-old's gigantic popularity in his homeland.
Sinis looked uncomfortable on the scales as he staggered during Friday's weigh-in and looked equally unnerved by Clarke's ferocious ground game. Time and again, the SBG star rag-dolled Sinis to the canvas and inflicted punishment from a dominant position, ultimately picking up the win in what was one of the most impressive performances of his career to date.
Sinead Kavanagh made a winning return to the cage after exactly a year on the side-lines. The Inchicore woman was making her first ring walk since she beat Leah McCourt in Dublin last year, a fight that saw Kavanagh tear her ACL and MCL within the first 30 seconds.
There was no such drama this time as she picked apart Janay Harding for three rounds. Using her superior boxing skills, the former amateur star and one-time teammate of Katie Taylor, dropped Harding twice in the second round on her way to avenging a 2018 loss that had sat uneasily with her ever since.
A highlight of any Irish Bellator card is seeing Peter Queally make his entrance. Serenaded by thousands of fans singing 'Zombie' by The Cranberries, the Dungarvan man looked confident as he headed to the cage.
But so did his opponent Bryce Logan, who was bopping along to Dolores O'Riordan's dulcet tones throughout Queally's entrance.
Logan flattened Queally in the second round with a hellacious elbow, silencing the crowd and condemning the veteran Irishman to a third defeat in a row in front of the Dublin crowd. With just one win since 2019, it's back to the drawing board for Queally as he looks to regain the form that earned him a title shot less than two years ago.
In the co-main event, Pedro Carvalho looked to make good on his promise of earning a title shot by the end of the year. Unfortunately for the adopted Irishman, he ran into Jeremy Kennedy who was in no mood to roll over.
Kennedy, who has fought the likes of UFC Champion Alexander Volkanovski, put Carvalho on his back on multiple occasions with a series of strong takedowns. Carvalho just couldn't get into a rhythm, and Kennedy took home the win after a grinding performance to cap off a mixed night for the Irish contingent.
The final word has to go to Amosov however whose record continues to defy belief. Two years on from his last fight, where he beat the legendary Douglas Lima, Amosov looked better than ever.
A scary proposition for the entire Bellator welterweight division.
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