Mads Burnell got the upset win over Emmanuel Sanchez in the Bellator 263 co-main event.
Mads Burnell was in trouble in the opening round against Emmanuel Sanchez, mostly due to Sanchez’s ferocious boxing and relentless pace.
But Burnell was able to survive the onslaught to earn a unanimous decision win over Sanchez, a semifinalist in the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix.
Burnell and Sanchez opened up the fight by quickly meeting in the center of the cage, exchanging big shots on the feet. While Sanchez appeared to be the more active striker in the opening round, Burnell was able to settle in and start to get into a rhythm as the fight went on.
After two rounds of a back-and-forth war between Burnell and Sanchez, Burnell started to swarm Sanchez and overwhelm him on the ground. He nearly secured a rear-naked choke midway through the final round, before Sanchez was able to break free and counter with some brutal elbows.
Despite taking some hard shots from Sanchez from the bottom, Burnell was able to keep himself out of serious trouble and was able to land some shots from the top position. After three rounds of nonstop action, Burnell was awarded the unanimous decision win over the veteran Sanchez.
Mads Burnell has emerged into the Bellator featherweight title picture
Sanchez came into the fight looking to make a statement after two losses to featherweight champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire over his last five fights. Outside of his battles with Freire, Sanchez has been largely dominant in Bellator and has been a mainstay in Bellator’s featherweight title picture.
Burnell, one of the hottest Danish prospects in MMA, had won six straight fights including his first two Bellator outings against Saul Rogers and Darko Banovic. Before that, he fought in brief stints with the UFC and Cage Warriors.
With the win, Burnell remains in the featherweight title picture and will surely get another big name for his next fight.