April is a massive month for Bellator, with three events on the docket and five championship fights scheduled.
The festivities kick off Friday, with Bellator 277 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The event is headlined by a featherweight championship rematch between [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (32-5 MMA, 20-5 BMMA). The co-headliner for the Showtime-televised card will see the conclusion of the light heavyweight grand prix when [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (30-8-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) clashes with [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) to determine the divisional and tournament champion.
The organization will then head to Hawaii for back-to-back events on April 22 and April 23. The latter of those events, Bellator 279, also featured a championship doubleheader. [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (25-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) run it back for women’s featherweight gold in the main event, while [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (25-3 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) and [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) for the interim bantamweight title in the opening round of the 135-pound grand prix.
Those four matchups in particular were part of Monday’s Bellator press conference in Los Angeles, and after taking questions from the media, they participated in faceoffs.
Check out the staredowns below.