Alexander Shlemenko wants to see five-round main events in Bellator regardless of whether or not a title is on the line.
At Bellator 185, Shlemenko was defeated by Gegard Mousasi via unanimous decision. It was a close bout and one that Shlemenko felt he should’ve won. His manager recently said they will appeal the loss.
Bellator President Scott Coker was asked after the fight if he plans on making non-title main events five rounds. Coker said the topic has been discussed internally. During a recent appearance on MMA Junkie Radio, Shlemenko said he’s all for the idea:
“In one of the interviews prior to my fight with Gegard, I said I wanted this fight to be a five-round fight. But unfortunately, Bellator doesn’t have such a rule. Their main events are just three rounds if it’s not a title fight. So I think yes, I would love to fight in five-round fights.”
He went on to say that he would’ve finished Mousasi with two extra rounds.
“I think it would be a great idea if Bellator would have main events of five rounds, and if this fight against Gegard was a five-round fight, I’m quite confident Gegard wouldn’t have survived. He wouldn’t have seen the end of the fight.”
