Edwards vs Cleveland

Who won Edwards vs Cleveland?

Rakim Cleveland beat Christian Edwards by submission in the 3rd round during the prelims of Bellator 293, on Friday 31st March 2023 at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

Edwards vs Cleveland stats

Christian Edwards stepped into the octagon with a record of 5 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Rakim Cleveland made his way to the cage with a record of 22 wins, 15 losses and 1 draw, 14 of those wins coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

Christian Edwards' Bellator record stood at 5-3-0, while Rakim Cleveland's came in at 1-2-0.

The stats suggested Cleveland had a large advantage in power over Edwards, boasting a 64% knock out percentage over Edwards' 40%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Cleveland had a slight advantage over Edwards, with a 27% submission rate over Edwards' 20%.

Christian Edwards was the younger man by 10 years, at 25 years old.

Edwards had a height advantage of 2 inches over Cleveland. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Edwards was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 31 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2019, 8 years and 8 months later than Cleveland, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 61 less professional rounds, 17 to Cleveland's 78.

Edwards vs Cleveland form

Cleveland had lost to all of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Tyrell Fortune at Bellator 277 on 15th April 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at SAP Center, San Jose, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Steve Mowry at Bellator 271 on 12th November 2021 by submission in the 1st round at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Vinny Magalh es at PFL 2019 #6 on 8th August 2019 by submission in the 1st round at Ocean Casino Resort, Atlantic City.

Before that, he had lost to Viktor Nemkov at PFL 2019 #3 on 6th June 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Long Island.

He had been beaten by Vinny Magalh es at PFL 2018 #9 on 13th October 2018 by submission in the 1st round at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, California.

Activity check

Edwards' last 3 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 11 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 7 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.3 rounds on average.

Cleveland's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 6 months and 13 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 1 month and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 7 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Edwards vs Cleveland?

Christian Edwards was a 1/5 (-500) favourite going into the contest, while Rakim Cleveland made his way into the ring at 7/2 (+350) with oddsmakers.