Koreshkov mauls Njokuani, Gonzalez taps Ward at Bellator 182

Andrey Koreshkov made Chidi Njokuani pay dearly for missing weight.

The former Bellator welterweight champion took Njokuani down to the mat in short order and proceeded to rain a barrage of fists and elbows on his dome until referee John McCarthy put an end to his misery just 4:08 into the 175-pound catchweight headliner of Bellator 182 in Verona, N.Y. on Friday.

Koreshkov's perfectly executed game plan for a kickboxer of Njokuani's length and power got him back in the win column after losing the promotional strap to Douglas Lima by third-round KO in a rematch at Bellator 164 last November. The 28-year-old Njokuani, on the other hand, has now missed weight in two of his last three and sees his Bellator record drop to 4-1 with his first loss in over four years.

Also coming in heavy for Friday's event was welterweight Fernando Gonzalez, who atoned for the transgression by submitting Brennan Ward via arm-in guillotine choke in the third round of the 180-pound catchweight co-headliner.

The gritty veteran was trailing on the scorecards prior to the stoppage, as Ward stalked him, initiated the leather exchanges and scored a few well-timed takedowns to steal the first two frames. Ward's formula ultimately worked in his foe's favor in the final stanza, with a sloppy takedown attempt giving Gonzalez just the opening to slap on the choke for the tapout at the 1:02 mark.

Gonzalez has now missed weight and gotten his hand raised in two straight - bringing his Bellator record to 7-1 - while Ward has been finished in as many tilts and three of his last four.

In the main card's early action, women's flyweight prospect Bruna Ellen edged Veta Arteaga by split decision, while featherweight upstart AJ McKee took a unanimous verdict over Blair Tugman to tie Ben Askren for the longest winning streak in Bellator history with nine.