Tonight’s Bellator 285 event was co-headlined by a highly anticipated light heavyweight bout between Yoel Romero and Melvin Manhoef.<\/p>\n
Romero (15-6 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since scoring a TKO victory over Alex Polizzi this past May at Bellator Paris. That victory had snapped a four-fight losing skid for ‘The Soldier of God’, as Romero previously suffered a string of decision defeats to Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa, Israel Adesanya and Phil Davis.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Melvin Manhoef (32-16-1 MMA) was taking to the cage<\/a> for the final time<\/a> in his storied career this evening in Dublin. ‘No Mercy’ had last competed in November of 2020, where he suffered a TKO loss Corey Anderson. Prior to that, the feared Dutch striker was coming off back-to-back wins over Yannick Bahati and Kent Kauppinen.<\/p>\n Tonight’s Bellator 285 co-main event resulted in another strong showing from Yoel Romero. ‘The Soldier of God’ was able to score a knockdown in the opening round from a low kick to left hand combo and appeared to slightly edge out round two. Then, in round three, Romero got the fight to the floor and proceeded to unload some nasty punches and elbows<\/a> on Manhoef. The referee was eventually forced to step in and call a stop to the contest.<\/p>\n Official Bellator 285 Result: Yoel Romero def. Melvin Manhoef via TKO (elbows) in Round 3<\/p>\n Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Romero vs. Manhoef’ below:<\/p>\n Melvin Manhoef went pro in 95 & I was only a year old salute to a 27 year combat sport career and one of the best knockout fighters ever<\/p>\n — Terrance \u2018T Wrecks\u2019 McKinney (@twrecks155) September 23, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n