UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Matt Mitrione said he put himself through a "miserable" training camp filled with wrestling to prepare for Ryan Bader. It wasn't enough on Friday night in a Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal, however, as Bader continuously took his opponent to the mat and dominated on the ground to win by unanimous decision.
Bader (26-5), a former two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State, was able to take Mitrione (13-6) down with ease throughout the matchup. Once there, Bader landed a multitude of punches that left Mitrione largely helpless. Mitrione tried to get up multiple times but got to his feet for only mere seconds before being sent back to the mat.
The fight was so one-sided -- and with little action -- that fans in the Mohegan Sun Arena booed throughout.
Bader's win moves him to the grand prix final against either Chael Sonnen or Fedor Emelianenko. Both compete Saturday night at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, New York.
Kharitonov knocks out Nelson following early controversy
After an illegal knee that nearly lost him the fight and cost him a point on the scorecards, Sergei Kharitonov took control against Roy Nelson for the remainder of the first round and knocked him out with devastating knees to the body and uppercuts to the face.
The Russian improved to 28-6, but not after early controversy.
Kharitonov forced Nelson to the cage less than a minute into the bout. With both of Nelson's hands on the mat, Kharitonov kneed his opponent in the face. Referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in and eventually took a point away from Kharitonov.
After Nelson took a few minutes to recover and the fight resumed, Kharitonov used a strong jab and eventually landed a barrage of knees and uppercuts before Nelson dropped to the ground.
Nelson has now lost two of his three matchups in Bellator since moving over in 2017 from the UFC. He has not had the best of luck inside the Mohegan Sun Arena, as he also lost by majority decision to Matt Mitrione in the opening round of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix earlier this year.
Larkin notches second straight win, defeating Pascu by unanimous decision
Lorenz Larkin picked up his second consecutive win in Bellator, defeating Ion Pascu by unanimous decision. Larkin (18-7) dictated the distance while standing throughout, landing left hooks early in the fight. He attacked Pascu's lead leg often in the second and third rounds and landed a hard body kick late in the third round.
Larkin withstood a challenging third round in which Pascu (18-9) was able to take him to the mat and add punches while in his guard.
Larkin praised his opponent for the back-and-forth bout.
"He's a tough fighter, took the fight on short notice," Larkin said. "He's a tough dude."
After two losses to begin his Bellator career, Larkin appears back on track. He's now officially the alternate for Bellator's upcoming Welterweight World Grand Prix.
Browning pulls major upset in TKO win against 'Baby Slice'
Kevin "Baby Slice" Ferguson entered his bout with Corey Browning as the heavy favorite. He left on a stretcher following a second-round TKO loss.
Slice was taken to a hospital as a precaution and was released later in the night, Bellator officials said.
After each fighter had a submission attempt fail, Browning (4-2) found himself in top position. He then rained down a multitude of hard punches before referee Bryan Miner stepped in to end the bout early.
"I went for the submission," Browning told "Big" John McCarthy after. "I did not find it, but I had to find a way to get the W. I couldn't lose."
Both fighters had their moments in the first round. Slice took Browning to the ground early and landed punches from top position. He later had Browning in a clinch against the cage and landed hard knees to the body. Toward the end of the round, Browning reversed a takedown attempt and landed hard elbows and punches.
Slice was on a three-fight win streak before Friday night's loss.