TEMECULA – Bellator 293: Golm vs. James was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place Friday, March 31, at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. While the main event was a heavyweight match between the No. 5-ranked Marcelo Golm and the No. 8-ranked Daniel James, the fight of the night went the way of two bloodied up females that energized the crowd in Cat Zingano and Leah McCourt.

Top-ranked Zingano took on the No. 4-ranked McCourt in the co-main event of the main card, which also included a middleweight battle between No. 4-ranked John Salter and No. 6-ranked Aaron Jeffrey, as well as a welterweight matchup between No. 10-ranked Jaleel Willis and Rustam Khabilov, a 13-fight UFC veteran who made his Bellator debut.

Daniel James celebrates after defeating Marcelo Golm by TKO of their heavyweight Bellator 293 bout Friday, March 31, at Pechanga Resort and Casino. Valley News/Action Captures Media Group

While Heavyweight is a particularly shallow division in mixed martial arts, the Bellator 293 main event between Golm and James was a bill that was set to earn the winner a shot at the Bellator heavyweight championship. In the clash of big men riding four-fight winning streaks, James was able to land a series of heavy blows in the third round to score a TKO in the biggest fight of his career. After scoring the victory, James credited his coach with encouraging him to let his strikes go heading into the third round.

“He told me that the whole night last night,” James told the media after the fight. “I just had to sit down and really think about it. I just had to think about our purpose. The fight was going one way, I felt, and I had to let the hands go. I had to believe in myself, and I just won.”

James’ win is his second in the Bellator cage and moves him inches from a shot at Ryan Bader and the Bellator heavyweight title and he wasted little time in calling out the champion.

Cat Zingano defeated Leah McCourt via unanimous decision in their co-main event bout at Bellator 293. Valley News/Andrez Imaging

As mentioned, Zingano and McCourt put on one of the most entertaining, and bloody, back-and-forth female fights of 2023 at Bellator 293. The one thing made the clear difference was the damage that was done by Zingano, who came away with a unanimous decision by scores of 29-28, 30-27, 29-28, much to the delight of the heavily supportive crowd.

“I’m hard to keep on my back. I’ve heard that before,” Zingano said afterward. “She’s really tall and really strong and a lot of body. I’m not used to that, still, at this weight class. Yeah, I knew it was going to be a tussle with her, and it was going to be a lot of work. What I do know is I know how to cause damage and a lot of it. I think the damage made up for some of the transitional periods, and here we are.”

San Diego native, Jeff Creighton (right), landing a punch here on Joey Davis, won via split decision in their bout Friday, March 31, at Pechanga Resort and Casino. Valley News/Action Captures Media Group

The full results of the main and preliminary events were reported as follows:

  • Cat Zingano def. Leah McCourt via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).
  • John Salter def. Aaron Jeffery via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
  • Luke Trainer def. Sullivan Cauley via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:58.
  • Rakim Cleveland def. Christian Edwards via submission (standing guillotine choke) – Round 3, 3:55.
  • Mike Hamel def. Nick Browne via TKO (head kick, punches) – Round 1, 0:42.
  • Adam Piccolotti def. Mandel Nallo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:26.
  • Sara Collins def. Pam Sorenson via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:43.
  • Jeff Creighton def. Joey Davis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
  • Lucas Brennan def. Josh San Diego via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:14.
  • Vladimir Tokov def. Lance Gibson Jr. via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:02.
  • Randi Field def. Ashley Cummins via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
  • Bryce Meredith def. Brandon Carrillo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:11.
  • Mackenzie Stiller def. Maria Henderson via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:17.

For more information on the event, visit www.bellator.com.

JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.

JP Raineri
JP Raineri

JP is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and head of the Sports Department for the Valley News. Over his time in the Temecula Valley, JP, a former Southwestern League head baseball coach, was also an on-air radio personality at Q103.3, KATY 101.3, Hot 103.9, and was a television host for the Outdoor Channel. When not covering local, or national sports, JP also serves as an Associate Baseball Scout with NSR.