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Mousasi guts out unanimous decision over Shlemenko in debut at Bellator 185

Dave Mandel / USA TODAY Sports

No right eye? No problem.

Competing with only half his vision at his disposal for the bulk of three rounds, former UFC middleweight contender Gegard Mousasi did just enough to take his Bellator debut over Alexander Shlemenko by a trio of 29-28 scores in the main event of Bellator 185 in Connecticut on Friday.

Mousasi signed with the Scott Coker-led outfit earlier this summer after fulfilling his UFC contract on a five-fight win streak, and had to submit a prudent effort against a game Shlemenko to pick up his sixth consecutive victory and move within arm's reach of the title shot he never got in the Octagon.

The 32-year-old's vision was impeded early by an overhand left from Shlemenko that caught him square on the right eye, prompting him to resort to his long-dormant submission skills. As the far bigger fighter, Mousasi encountered negligible resistance in dragging the diminutive Shlemenko to the mat, where he spent the bulk of Round 1 angling for an elusive rear-naked choke from back control.

After being cleared to fight on with his eye swollen shut by the cageside doctor, Mousasi had a much rougher go of imposing his will in the middle frame. Shlemenko pulled back into the fight with some blistering body work and spinning back kicks early, only for Mousasi to steal the stanza with a mid-round takedown and yet another clock-chewing submission attempt.

Round 3 proved as dominant for Shlemenko as the first did for Mousasi. The Russian teed off on his half-blind, tiring foe, whose output drastically waned and takedown attempts grew increasingly naked. However, the judges didn't deem Shlemenko's late exploitation of Mousasi's halved vision enough to secure what would have been a jaw-dropping upset, as each scored two of three rounds for the promotional newcomer.

Shlemenko - a former Bellator middleweight champion - sees a six-fight win streak of nearly three years snapped with the razor-close defeat.

In the welterweight co-main event, Neiman Gracie improved to 5-0 in Bellator and 7-0 as a pro with a second-round tapout via neck crank over newcomer Zak Bucia, who filled in for an injured Javier Torres on just a handful of days' notice.

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