The lineup for the first standalone Bellator event under its new PFL ownership continues to build with a lightweight matchup for Northern Ireland.
[autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] (21-5) is set to take on [autotag]Alfie Davis[/autotag] (16-4-1) at Bellator 302 next month. The event will be the first in Bellator’s Champions Series and is set for March 22 at SSE Arena in Belfast. A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Monday and spoke on anonymity since the promotion has not yet made an official announcement.
The 34-year-old Musayev, from Azerbaijan, had back-to-back wins under the Rizin banner in 2023 after a stretch that saw him drop two of three fights, including one in the opening round of Bellator’s lightweight grand prix to Alexandr Shabliy. His fight against Davis will come a year to the weekend from his loss to Shabliy that gave him an early exit from the $1 million tournament.
England’s Davis, who trains with the famed London Shootfighters team, has had plenty of success for Bellator over the years with a 7-1-1 record. Coincidentally, his only Bellator loss came to Shabliy, as well, though he went the distance with him and Musayev was knocked out in the third round. After that setback and a draw with Tim Wilde, Davis has consecutive decision wins over Thibault Gouti and Aalon Cruz.
The latest Bellator 302 lineup includes:
- Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore – for vacant light heavyweight title
- Leah McCourt vs. Sinead Kavanagh
- James Gallagher vs. Jeremy Kennedy
- Fabian Edwards vs. Aaron Jeffery
- Alfie Davis vs. Tofiq Musayev