Bellator 300 is down one of its title fights.
Just five days from the historic event, [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] has withdrawn from his heavyweight title fight against champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] because of an undisclosed illness. As a result, the bout has been scrapped altogether. Bellator 300, which takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, will proceed with a three-title-fight main card.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the news Monday. Bellator later made an announcement.
Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) vs. Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) would have been a rematch of a November 2017 light heavyweight title fight in which Bader made his first successful title defense by second-round TKO at Bellator 186.
Bader vs. Vassell was one of four scheduled title fights at Bellator 300, along with Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano at women’s featherweight; Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus at lightweight; and Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane at women’s flyweight.
With the cancellation, here is the updated Bellator 300 lineup:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus – for lightweight title; lightweight grand prix semifinal
- Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano – for women’s featherweight title
- Champ Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane – for women’s flyweight title
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6:30 p.m. ET)
- Davion Franklin vs. Slim Trabelsi
- Henry Corrales vs. Kai Kamaka
- Leah McCourt vs. Sara McMann
- Jena Bishop vs. Ilara Joanne
- Alberto Garcia vs. Bobby Seronio III
- Romero Cotton vs. Grant Neal
- Sergio Cossio vs. Jesse Roberts
- Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Herman Terrado
- Maciej Rozanski vs. Doveltdzhan Yagshimuradov
- Dmytrii Hrytsenko vs. Justin Montalvo
- Bryce Meredith vs. Miguel Peimbert
- Jackie Cataline vs. Lorrany Santos
- Josh Hokit vs. Spencer Smith
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.