Neal vs Albrektsson

Who won Neal vs Albrektsson?

Grant Neal beat Karl Albrektsson by split decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of Bellator 290, on Saturday 4th February 2023 at Kia Forum in Inglewood.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Grant Neal.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 205 pounds (14.6 stone or 93 KG).

Neal vs Albrektsson stats

Grant Neal stepped into the octagon with a record of 7 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 1 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Karl Albrektsson made his way to the cage with a record of 13 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

Karl Albrektsson marked his 5th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2019.

Grant Neal's Bellator record stood at 8-2-0, while Karl Albrektsson's came in at 2-3-0.

The stats suggested Albrektsson had a massive power advantage over Neal, boasting a 46% knock out percentage over Neal's 14%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Neal had an advantage over Albrektsson, with a 43% submission rate over Albrektsson's 23%.

Grant Neal was the younger man by 2 years, at 29 years old.

Albrektsson had a height advantage of 3 inches over Neal. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Neal was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 9 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2019, 6 years and 6 months later than Albrektsson, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 13 less professional rounds, 28 to Albrektsson's 41.

Neal vs Albrektsson form

Grant Neal had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Romero Cotton at Bellator 300 on 7th October 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Pechanga Arena, San Diego, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Karl Albrektsson at Bellator 290 on 4th February 2023 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Kia Forum, Inglewood.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Christian Edwards at Bellator 278 on 22nd April 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu.

Before that, he had lost to Alex Polizzi at Bellator 266 on 18th September 2021 by split decision in their 3 round contest at SAP Center, San Jose.

He was victorious against Tyree Fortune at Bellator 259 on 21st May 2021 by submission in the 1st round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Karl Albrektsson had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been beaten by Karl Moore at Bellator 285 on 23rd September 2022 by submission in the 2nd round at 3Arena Dublin, Dublin, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had won against Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov at Bellator 266 on 16th October 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Footprint Center, Phoenix, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Viktor Nemkov at Bellator 257 on 16th April 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Before that, he had been defeated by Phil Davis at Bellator 231 on 25th October 2019 by knockout in the 3rd round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had defeated Christiano Frohlich at RIZIN 15 on 21st April 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Grant Neal had been fighting more than Karl Albrektsson.

Going to this contest, Grant Neal had last fought 1 year, 8 months and 11 days ago, while Karl Albrektsson's last outing had been 2 years, 8 months and 26 days ago.

Neal's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years and 28 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 24 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Albrektsson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 1 month and 28 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Neal vs Albrektsson?

Grant Neal was a 11/5 (+220) underdog going into the contest, while Karl Albrektsson made his way into the ring at 30/100 (-330) with oddsmakers.