Bellator 171 Recap: Njokuani Steamrolls Guillard

Contributor: Nolan Howell

Bellator 171 from the Kansas Star Casino brought us a 179 lbs. catchweight main event between two fighters on two very different paths. Melvin Guillard aimed to reverse a run that many consider his twilight with two wins in the past three years, while Chidi Njokuani wanted to earn a name victory and establish himself as a contender after climbing the ladder. The story was much more impressive than the fight as it amounted to a one-sided pounding with Njokuani swinging the hammer.

Njokuani spent the first round at range, working on the body with kicks. Guillard was only able to get close when clinching or scoring takedowns. Njokuani controlled the grappling in the second with stuffed takedowns and controlled Guillard against the cage, but he almost finished Guillard with a liver kick in the final seconds. A knee in the third landed and led to Njokuani on top for the entirety of the round, landing short shots while Guillard played defense.

Njokuani showed some interesting wrinkles in stuffing the power wrestling game of Guillard and showed some decent offensive transitions on the ground in addition to his already impressive kickboxing. Guillard looked as shopworn as ever, but the feather still looks impressive in Njokuani’s cap. 

Kansas’s own David Rickels came out doing a mannequin challenge, but that wasn’t his only highlight as he beat Aaron Derrow from pillar to post for two rounds before finishing him with flurry early in the third. Rickels looked as sharp as ever against his showcase opponent with heavy punches and an active and powerful top game on the ground. While Rickels is prone to inconsistency, it was a reassuring return to top form. Rickels won this at welterweight, but he asked for the best fights at lightweight or 170 lbs post-fight.

A women’s flyweight bout between 1-0 Jessica Middleton and 4-4 former pro boxer Alice Yauger went the distance. Middleton was the sharper of the two strikers in the first two rounds and busted open Yauger by the left eye. Yauger scored a takedown in the third, but Middleton was able to take the back and fight for a choke for the rest of the round en route to a unanimous decision win. While the fight was lacking technically, Yauger was a gamer against the pressure of Middleton, who looked solid for a developing talent.

Featherweight prospect AJ McKee, son of legendary regional talent Antonio McKee, extended his undefeated record to 7-0 with a unanimous decision win over Brandon Phillips. McKee spent most of the fight using a lead leg thrust kick to the body and a lead jab and uppercut to keep Phillips away. Phillips was able to land punches and chop away with leg kicks, but McKee iced it with a few takedowns in the third round. McKee continues to show new things in combination with his rangey physique, which can be a bit frustrating, but essential during the climb for a prospect.

McKee may be far from a complete product, but he makes a tough fight for anyone with his combination of length and ability to adapt to differing gameplans.

Bellator 172: Fedor vs. Mitrione got a co-main event announcement as well on the show as Josh Thomson and Patricky “Pitbull” Freire will fight for position at lightweight.

-Nolan can be reached at [email protected] or @undercardnolan.