Ex-Edinboro wrestlers at Bellator 202: Honeycutt wins, James falls

For two former Edinboro wrestlers at Bellator 202 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. Friday night, it was a night of mixed results, as two-time NCAA All-American Chris Honeycutt scored a unanimous-decision victory, while Ernest James, 2012 NCAA heavyweight qualifier for the Fighting Scots, was the victim of a TKO.

Here's how MMAJunkie.com described the dominance of the former Edinboro mat stud and Ohio high school state champ in the middleweight (185 pound) main event: "Honeycutt beat Leo Leite from post to post and bell to bell."

"Relentless in striking and in grappling, Honeycutt left Leite with a massive hematoma and bloody face, and he also picked up a blowout unanimous decision."

CagesidePress.com wrote, "With steady pressure throughout, Honeycutt was far and away the winner, taking 30-25 scores on all three scorecards."

There was more than a decade difference in the ages of the two fighters, as Honeycutt, 29, dominated the 40-year-old Brazilian the entire 15 minutes of their bout.

Honeycutt is now 7-2 in Bellator, and 11-2 in his professional MMA career, while, Leite drops to 0-2 in his brief history in Bellator, and 10-2 overall.

Relative newcomer Ernest James had a rougher night, suffering his first defeat in his young pro MMA career at the hands of Russia's Valentin Moldavsky in their heavyweight main event.

"Moldavsky smashed James with right hands before sending him to the mat with a final flurry at the 4:03 mark of the second round," according to MMAJunkie.com.

Moldavsky moves up to 8-1 in his MMA career, and 2-0 in Bellator, while James is now 1-1 in his young career, with the same mark in Bellator competition.