Well, Gregory Babene vs. Charlie Ward didn’t last long, but it sure was one heck of a ride on the Bellator 299 preliminary card.
The two middleweights went toe to toe from the very start until one went down Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin. Ward (10-7 MMA, 7-4 BMMA) came out aggressively pressing and throwing big shots on Babene (23-11 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), but in one of the sequences he got caught and wobbled. Instead of recovering, Ward doubled down and went after Babene, who knocked him down with a left hook.
From there, Babene began grappling with Ward, and after a few scrambles, Babene was able to tap him with a guillotine choke. The whole fight lasted 62 seconds.
You can watch the replay of the finish below:
#Bellator299 Official Result: Gregory Babene (23-11, 1 NC) defeated Charlie Ward (10-7) via submission (guillotine) at 1:03 of round one pic.twitter.com/YwY4XnRcKR
— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) September 23, 2023
After a wild 62-second fight, an emotional Gregory Babene dedicated his submission win to his father who died two weeks ago. 🙏#Bellator299 | Full coverage: https://t.co/d5Qm0ExLrH pic.twitter.com/UMOYHHhc9f
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 23, 2023
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.