Joey Davis won his first pro MMA bout at Bellator 160 (Photo/Bellator)Former college wrestling champs went one-for-one at Bellator 160, as four-time NCAA Division II titlist Joey Davis won his first professional mixed martial arts bout, while NCAA Div. I champ Bubba Jenkins was knocked out in less than a minute in his match at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California Friday night.
Davis, a native of Compton, California, earned a unanimous decision over Keith Cutrone in his Bellator debut at the catchweight of 175 pounds. All three judges scored it 30-27 for the former undefeated Notre Dame College of Ohio superstar wrestler; in its live play-by-play coverage, Sherdog.com's own panel of judges also scored each of the three rounds in favor of Davis.
After his successful inaugural bout, Davis posted this succinct yet heartfelt message on Facebook: "God is good 1-0!"
With the win, Davis is now 1-0 in MMA, while Cutrone is 1-1.
Davis' pro MMA career has been on a fast track. He won his fourth NCAA title at 184 pounds in March ... signed with Bellator in June, then learned he would be fighting at Bellator 160 just one month ago ... and discovered who his opponent would be even more recently.
The outcome was not as good for Bubba Jenkins. The 2011 NCAA champ for Arizona State met his end 53 seconds in the first round, knocked out by Georgi Karakhanyan in a 145-pound catchweight bout.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal said Karakhanyan landed "a big right hook after catching a kick to drop Jenkins along the cage and end the fight."
"The Russian featherweight took care of 'The Highlight Kid' for the second time in two years," reported FightNetwork.com. "'Insane' came out firing, landing multiple blows that sent Jenkins to the mat with an early knockout, earning his 11th win in his last 14 fights. The loss is only the third of Jenkins' young career and second of the first round variety, both of which Karakhanyan is now responsible for."
Back in January 2015, Jenkins lost to Karakhanyan by technical submission -- a guillotine choke -- at 1:49 of the first round of their bout at Bellator 132.
With the loss, Jenkins -- who announced his MMA plans after pinning former Penn State teammate David Taylor in the 157-pound finals at the 2011 NCAAs -- now falls to 11-3 in his five-year-old pro MMA career, while the veteran Karakhanyan is now 25-6-1 in his career that now spans a decade.
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