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By Press Release

#3–Benson Henderson (30-11) defeated #7-Peter Queally (13-7-1) via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)
“After five rounds against Peter Queally, I’ve got to say hats off to Peter Queally. He is a true testament to the Irish people. The man’s all class; a gentleman through and through. Hats off to Peter and hats off to the Dublin fans. You guys are cray cray, man. Great night, great energy, great vibes. Place was off the roof once again. It was awesome. Great environment. Crowd was cheering at the end. I loved it.”

“Peter did a great job, he did awesome. I don’t think he landed anything super clean in the early rounds that made me adjust, but he brought his A-game. He did a great job defensively. Great posture, great position; being able to defend a lot of my wrestling.”

“That’s what I would like. I want the title fight next. I know it’s the Russian vs. the Brazilian next. Mad respect to Pitbull, I’m a huge Patricky fan. Patricky has the belt, and he has a W over me. So, I think it would be very apropos for him to win his fight and for me to square off against him and take the belt from him, especially because he has the W over me. But if Usman happens to win and it’s him instead… let’s go do a title shot over there somewhere. Whoever wins, that’s what I want next. That’s why I said yes to Peter; he just fought for the belt.”

“I am not at all ready for the emotional impact of retiring, but I have three more fights. So, I’m going to worry about that first and take it one fight at a time. That’s all that I look forward to. You can’t control a lot of things, but you can control how hard you work; being the hardest worker in the room. I’m going to go back to the gym on Monday, start getting better, and start working toward my next fight. At the end of those three fights, then I’ll be an emotional wreck.”
#7-Yoel Romero (15-6) defeated #9-Melvin Manhoef (32-16-1, 2 NC) via KO at 3:34 of round three
“I had good preparation for this fight. I had a full camp already because this fight was supposed to take place in Paris. I respect all of my opponents and he was no exception to this. I did everything I had to do for somebody like Melvin, of his calibre.”

“I knew exactly what his flaws were and what his strong points were, so during the fight I took the opportunity to study my opponent… but I knew exactly how I was going to finish the fight.”

“During the fight my coaches told me that it was a good time to end the fight, and that’s when I took the fight to the ground and finished it.”

“Right now, all the light heavyweights can chill out and not worry about me. I think we’re going to make the move to 185 pounds right now.”

“What we got cooking is we’re going to chase that title at 185, and if the opportunity arises to fight for the title, I’d love for it to be here in Europe. The fans in Europe are absolutely amazing. The heat and energy coming from the fans is amazing.”

“I fight whoever is in front of me, the real question is does he (Jake Paul) want to fight me, the beast. They offered him the fight already and he was back and forth, but obviously he said ‘no.’”

#5-Leah McCourt (7-2) defeated #7-Dayana Silva (10-8) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
“I just knew I had to try and step it up again. I think I held back a little bit during the fight because I knew I wanted to get a win here in Dublin, but it shows progression in my game.”

“It was nice to get 15 minutes of experience in the striking, as well… I think I just wanted to try and work on that part of my game in this fight. I believed I was a better striker than her, and everybody was just telling me to go out there and put it on her, and it worked.”

“I was really focused this camp, which I really felt in my performance. I struggle so much with nerves and stuff, and fight week’s always tough. This has been a nice week, and it’s been nice to have my family and friends. After such a devastating loss in February, it was tough, and I had to fight a lot of demons to get back in there, and I’m just proud of myself.” 

“Dublin in February. I don’t care, as long as I get to fight here… It was such a nicer experience being back in the red corner as the home fighter.”
#5-Pedro Carvalho (13-6) defeated #3-Mads Burnell (16-5) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
“I can’t prove nothing to no one, I already proved everything I have to prove. Now it’s me against me. If I have to prove something, it’s to myself. Prove that I’m the best, prove that everything that I have been saying is true. The best way to prove it to myself is going out there with the best in the world, like Mads is, and beat them. That’s it.”

“I don’t say this because it sounds good, but Ireland is my home, Ireland is my country. You know when I go in there, I represent the same pride I have with the Portugal flag as I represent the flag of Ireland.”

“I think logically it’s me against the winner of Pico and Jeremy Kennedy. But I rushed too much in the past and that cost me a title fight, and then I rushed again, and it cost me an unnecessary loss against Jay Jay Wilson. So, I learn to take my time, I learn to have the right steps one at a time. So, I’ll be honest, if my next fight is not for the number one contender spot, I won’t be bothered, I know I’ll get there. I know that very soon I will be fighting for the belt so when that time comes, I’ll make sure to be ready. That’s what matters to me.”

“It was amazing because when I first came to SBG, they were all coaches of the first ever champ-champ in the world.”

Ciaran Clarke (6-0) defeated Rafael Hudson (5-4) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:50 of round three
“Trust me, every day of my life growing up, the temptations were there. I don’t know why I was strong enough. Again, it’s obviously divine intervention. I was out in the streets and stuff, but I suppose I’m just blessed, and I hope to help other people.”

“It’s massive. Look, I’m glad I’m able to show that I’m tough, but I don’t want to be in any more of these, you know? I don’t want to be taking all this damage and showing how tough I am. Like I said, I’m from Drogheda, of course I’m tough. Maybe, at the end of it, that’s my purpose in this sport: to inspire people. As far as skill-wise, I have a lot to improve on… and just get better for the next one.”

“To be honest, I envisioned a cleaner fight, but he was tough. It’s the game we play. I’m meant to improve, I know… trust me, 15 minutes is a long, long time. I could see it in his eyes; I could feel it. I just keep faith in the Lord. I knew that the opportunity would come, and went he threw the knee, and I threw the jab, it felt good to come back in the third round.”

“I think you have to have me in the 3Arena if you have something here.”
Karl Moore (10-2) defeated #6-Karl Albrektsson (13-4) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:36 of round two

“After three years back, to be on the main card fighting #6 in the division, that was picture perfect. That was unbelievable.”

“Like I said, I haven’t fought in three years. I wanted a guy in the top ten to make up for lost time, and I think I showed that today. I turned 30 now, and it’s like, what have you done? The sport’s moved on. Everyone’s moved on. A lot of people doubted me, but I knew how good I was.”

“First of all, it puts me in the top ten. It shows everybody Karl Moore is back, and he’s here to stay.”
BELLATOR 285: HENDERSON VS. QUEALLY PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS:

Brian Moore (15-9) defeated Arivaldo Lima da Silva (19-10-2, 2 NC) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Brett Johns (19-3) defeated Jordan Winski (12-4) via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

Darragh Kelly (2-0) defeated Kye Stevens (3-2, 1 NC) via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

Kane Mousah (14-4) defeated Georgi Karakhanyan (31-14-2) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Kenny Mokhonoana (4-0) defeated Alex Bodnar (4-2) via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:42 of round one

Asael Adjoudj (4-1) defeated Jordan Barton (7-3) via TKO (strikes) at 2:39 of round one

Luca Poclit (7-1) defeated Dante Schiro (9-4) via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:31 of round two