Peter Queally's decision loss Benson Henderson put only a slight dampener on another special night at Dublin's 3Arena for Bellator 285.
The former UFC lightweight champion arrived to start off a four-fight retirement tour at the iconic Irish venue, playing the stifling villain to Queally's hometown hero. From the first bell fans arrived in rare numbers to get behind a slate of talent from Conor McGregor's SBG Ireland, with the gym picking up eight wins from their nine fights.
The always-stunning Queally ring walk was a sight to behold again as he made his way to the cage for another legacy-defining night in Dublin. Bellator's highest-grossing Irish crowd ever sang along to The Cranberries' hit Zombie in unison once again, providing a deafening soundtrack to a special evening.
The Waterford native flew out of the traps with a big one-two early and pressed Henderson against the cage, stalking from the centre. Two minutes into the first, the fight made its way to the ground as predicted, but Queally was able to get himself back to his preferred standing position.
Henderson pressed Queally towards the fence as the round progressed, but was unable to land the significant move into a particularly advantageous position. A close round ended with the Irishman cut from an elbow before he returned for more in the second but was instantly sent down with a kick to the nether regions that halted proceedings.
Queally, buoyed on by the crowd singing his de facto theme song, returned as Henderson was docked a point. The fight essentially picked up where it left off with Henderson grinding through his work at the cage, as Queally attempted to stay upright, with the American likely winning the round.
The action continued at that grinding, slow pace throughout the third and fourth as Henderson continued working against the cage in a style one wouldn't call 'fan-friendly'. The pair did make up for the lack of hard-hitting action as they pumped up the crowd heading into the fifth, with the American in a comfortable lead.
And that's how it finished, with the judges ultimately scoring it unanimously in favour of Henderson with scorecards of 49-45 across the board. He had won every round, but the point deduction meant not a perfect result for the former champion.
McGregor was unable to attend due to filming a movie, but the stars were out in force with the UFC's Johnny Walker and Love Island star Josh Denzel watching on in the promotion's European home. Fans were excited to see the legendary Yoel Romero arrive on Irish shores, and he impressed with a third round TKO victory over Melvin Manhoef in the Dutch fighter's retirement bout.
Romero's presence could be felt throughout fight week, and after a workmanlike performance he eventually got Manhoef down and showered him with elbows for the finish. Manhoef laid his gloves in the cage after the fact, symbolising the end of a legendary career that has spanned four decades.
A solid night for John Kavanagh's team began with a stunning Luca Poclit submission win over Dante Schiro in which he landed a rare choke later branded the Lucanator. Asael Adjouj followed up with a head-kick knockout of Jordan Barton before hometown hero Kenny Mokhonoana got everyone going with a first round submission of Alex Bodnar.
From there, it was heavy-hitters only as grizzled veterans Kane Mousah and Georgi Karakhanyan battled out a three-round war of attrition. Mousah, who connected with his Irish roots during a visit to Drogheda this week, got the victory before declaring his intent to face main event star Queally in a rescheduling of their doomed February main event.
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Youngster Darragh Kelly was upset with his own showing on route to a decision win over Kye Stevens before UFC veteran Brett Johns took a relatively lack lustre decision win over Jordan Winski. And the crowd went wild for Wexford's Brian Moore as he dominated Arivaldo Lima da Silva to land another victory for the hosts.
Then it was time for a slate of come-from-behind victories as underdog Karl Moore stunned the home crowd in his return from a three-year layoff to submit No.6-ranked light-heavyweight Karl Albrektsson. He was dropped and very nearly finished at the end of the second by the heavy betting favourite, but rallied for a second round submission that sent the crowd into rapture.
Ciaran Clarke kept the party going when he defied an early knockdown of his own to land a third round choke, with the travelling Drogheda faithful delighting as he straddled the cage in celebration. Adopted Irishman Pedro Carvalho of Portugal also picked up an impressive win over No.3-ranked Mads Burnell to land himself right back in featherweight title contention.
Leah McCourt's striking was the big surprise as the Belfast native controlled proceedings against Brazilian Dayana Silva, with UFC star Molly McCann shouting her on from the corner. She had some trouble in the middle stages of the bout, although her improved striking will take many of the plaudits.
