INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Daniel Weichel wasn’t the most active fighter during his Bellator featherweight grand prix opening-round bout against Saul Rogers on Saturday night.

But Weichel was smart and efficient in picking his spots, and that was enough to earn the nod at The Forum. Weichel picked up a unanimous decision win in the main-card opener, getting a pair of 29-28s from the judges and a 30-27, to advance in the featherweight grand prix.

“It took me some time to get into the fight, but then I got my timing and distance right,” Weichel  said. “I wanted to pick my shots and didn’t want to rush things.”

The opening round was fought at a cautious pace, as the duo tried to figure out their range. Late in the round, though, came the fight’s most consequential exchange. Weichel (40-11 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) closed the distance, landed a right, then wobbled Rogers (13-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) with a looping right hand. Weichel tried to finish the fight as he poured it on as the bout hit the ground, but time ran out.

In the second and third rounds, Weichel effectively counter-struck to seal the deal. Rogers had several takedown attempts stuffed and never could get his offense untracked.

Weichel had a two-fight losing streak snapped with his 13th career decision win; Rogers has now dropped two of his past three.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 228 results include:

• Daniel Weichel def. Saul Rogers via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28) — featherweight tournament opening round
• A.J. Agazarm def. Jonathan Quiroz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ava Knight def. Shannon Goughary via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:46
• Antonio McKee def. William Sriyapai via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:17
• Johnny Cisneros def. Mike Jasper via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:28
• Leandro Higo def. Shawn Bunch via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 4:34
• Weber Almeida def. Castle Williams via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 0:20
• Joshua Jones def. Dominic Clark via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:39