Bader-Kongo declared no-contest after accidental eye poke

CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES - JANUARY 26, 2019: American light heavyweight MMA fighter Ryan Bader poses with his trophies at a press conference on winning the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix final bout against his Russian rival Fedor Emelianenko at the Forum in Inglewood, California; Bader knocked out Emelianenko 35 seconds into the bout. TASS
TASS / Getty

Bellator 226's main event ended in anticlimactic fashion as the heavyweight title fight between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo ended in a no-contest.

The fight was called in the first round after Bader accidentally poked Kongo's eye. Kongo told the referee he couldn't see, according to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, and the doctor waved the bout off.

As the result of the no-contest, Bader retained his heavyweight championship.

The champion had his challenger locked up against the cage and the eye poke occurred while he delivered a series of punches.

Following the fight, fellow Bellator heavyweight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Bader had to be separated in the Octagon. Jackson appeared to be defending Kongo, who is a former training partner.

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