Adam McDonough scored a huge win Friday night in the first round of the Bellator Welterweight tournament by upsetting seasoned veteran, Jesse Juarez. McDonough is an undefeated pro MMA fighter based out of the St Cloud, MN Get Sum Athletic Compound with Brock Larson, but recently began training with The Cellar Fight Team and Coach Chris Cichon to improve his striking.

The fight took place at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. McDonough was originally slated to face UFC veteran Mark Scanlon, but when Scanlon pulled out a week before the event, the bracket was shuffled and McDonough was re-scheduled to face Jesse Juarez, a 5x Bellator Veteran and national wrestling champion with a 20-7 MMA record.

The fight was contested mostly on the mat. In the first round McDonough landed a strong knee to the head of Juarez, but Juarez was able to capitalize and take the fight to the mat, as the two jockeyed for position Juarez locked up a tight arm-triangle choke, but McDonough defended and finished the fight on top in full mount. In the second round McDonough was able to defend a few of Juarez’s take-down attempts and land great strikes on the ground. The two went into the third round with the fight dead even, but McDonough felt the momentum shifting in his favor. He dropped Juarez with a leg kick, and controlled the action on the ground for half of the round. Juarez later scored 2 take-downs, but McDonough was able to get back to his feet and finish the round on top. All 3 judges scored the bout 29-28 for Adam McDonough by unanimous decision.

Adam McDonough will next face Nathan Coy in the semi-finals of the Welterweight tournament on Friday April 11th at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.

Expect to see Adam around the gym more often leading up to his semi-final fight. Adam’s personality, skills, and passion for the martial arts are a great addition to The Cellar Fight Team and we are thrilled to be working with him and others from Team Get Sum.