Tag: Bellator 254

With Tyree Fortune out, Grant Neal fights Maurice Jackson at Bellator 254

There has been a change to next week’s Bellator 254 preliminary card.

Bellator’s final card of 2020 is eight days away – and the lineup continues to evolve.

Wednesday, a promotion official informed MMA Junkie of a change to the preliminary card. Tyree Fortune is out of his preliminary card matchup against fellow up-and-comer [autotag]Grant Neal [/autotag]for undisclosed reasons.

Neal (4-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will remain on the card against[autotag] Maurice Jackson[/autotag] of Jackson Wink MMA. The fight will take place at 205 pounds.

Bellator 254 takes place Thursday, Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network after prelims on MMA Junkie.

At Bellator 243 in August, Neal returned to action for the first time since the promotion’s pandemic-induced hiatus. Neal dominated American Top Team Portland’s Hamza Salim for the majority of three rounds and earned a unanimous decision victory as a result.

A Bellator newcomer, Jackson (7-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has six wins in seven victories. His most recent win came in December 2018 when he finished former UFC and Bellator fighter Melvin Guillard with punches.

With the change, the Bellator 254 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (CBS Sports Network/DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Juliana Velasquez – for Bellator women’s flyweight title
  • Magomed Magomedov vs. Matheus Mattos
  • Nate Andrews vs. Goiti Yamauchi
  • Ronny Markes vs. Linton Vassell

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7:15 p.m. ET)

  • Romero Cotton vs. Justin Sumter
  • Maurice Jackson vs. Grant Neal
  • Kemran Lachinov vs. Shamil Nikaev
  • Davion Franklin vs. Anthony Garrett
  • Kenny Champion vs. Cody Law

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Linton Vassell vs. Ronny Markes, Cody Law vs. Kenny Champion added to Bellator 254

Two new bouts pitting Linton Vassell vs. Ronny Markes and Cody Law vs. Kenny Champion have been added to Bellator 254 on Dec. 10.

The lineup for Bellator’s return after a few weeks off continues to build.

The organization has booked [autotag]Cody Law[/autotag] against [autotag]Kenny Champion[/autotag] and is targeting a bout between [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] and [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag] for Bellator 254, which takes place Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

MMA Junkie confirmed the news following an initial report from MMA Fighting.

Law (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), a top prospect at American Top Team, made his professional debut in October and submitted Orlando Ortega in the first round at Bellator 250. He is a former NCAA Division-II wrestling champion.

Champion (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) made his professional debut in October 2019. He will make his Bellator debut against Law.

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In the heavyweight bout, both Vassell (19-8 MMA, 8-5 BMMA) and Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) look to build momentum from victories in their most recent fights, which snapped losing skids for both.

Vassell defeated Sergei Kharitonov with a second-round TKO in November 2019 at Bellator 234. Prior to that, the Englishman was on a three-fight losing skid.

Markes finally will make his Bellator debut more than a year after signing with the promotion. The Brazilian was expected to debut against Josh Barnett in December 2019 in Honolulu, but Barnett was removed from the card just hours before the fight when he was deemed unfit to compete due to illness. Markes most recently fought in June 2019 and beat Sigi Pesaleli in the PFL.

With the additions, the Bellator 254 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Juliana Velasquez – for women’s flyweight title
  • Ronny Markes vs. Linton Vassell
  • Magomed Magomedov vs. Matheus Mattos
  • Jessica Borga vs. Marina Mokhnatkina
  • Tyree Fortune vs. Grant Neal
  • Romero Cotton vs. Justin Sumter
  • Nate Andrews vs. Goiti Yamauchi
  • Kenny Champion vs. Cody Law

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Kemran Lachinov, Davion Franklin among additions to Bellator 254 prelims

Two fights have been added to Bellator 254’s preliminary card.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator 254 is three weeks away and the preliminary card is filling up.

A welterweight fight between [autotag]Kemran Lachinov[/autotag] and [autotag]Shamil Nikaev[/autotag], as well as a heavyweight bout between [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Garrett[/autotag], has been added to the Dec. 10 event, a promotion official recently informed MMA Junkie.

Lachniov (10-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) made his Bellator return in October when he defeated the American Kickboxing Academy’s Kyle Crutchmer by unanimous decision. Turkey’s Lachinov has fought intermittently for Bellator since 2015. While he’s not a rostered fighter, Lachinov has remained undefeated through five appearances.

Nikaev (9-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) signed with the promotion in late 2019, but has yet to debut. He was supposed to debut against Bobby Lee at Bellator 239 in February but the fight was canceled for unknown reasons. The 25-year-old welterweight fighter is an alumnus of ACB and holds a win over UFC lightweight Christos Giagos.

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Franklin (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) is the second recipient of the JacksonWink-Mata Leon scholarship. A former junior college football and wrestling standout, Franklin has one win by TKO and a second by technical decision.

Garrett (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is most well-known for his lone Bellator appearance to date, in which he was kneed in the groin multiple times by former WWE superstar Jake Hager. The October 2019 fight was ruled a “No Contest” and Garrett has gone 1-0 since.

Bellator 254 takes place Thursday, Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network/DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the Bellator 254 lineup includes:

  • Ilima Lei-Macfarlane vs. Julianna Velasquez – for women’s flyweight title
  • Nate Andrews vs. Goiti Yamauchi
  • Matheus Mattos vs. Magomedov Magomedov
  • Jessica Borga vs. Marina Mokhnatina
  • Tyree Fortune vs. Grant Neal
  • Romero Cotton vs. Justin Sumter
  • Kemran Lachinov vs. Shamil Nikaev
  • Davion Franklin vs. Anthony Garrett

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Bellator 254 adds debuting Nate Andrews vs. Goiti Yamauchi to main card lineup

A lightweight fight has been added to the Bellator 254 main card.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – CES MMA lightweight champion [autotag]Nate Andrews[/autotag] is headed to Bellator – and his debut is set.

Andrews (16-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will battle longtime Bellator fighter [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] in a lightweight fight on the Bellator 254 main card. A promotion official informed MMA Junkie of the matchup Wednesday.

Bellator 254 takes place Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network/DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Andrews, 36, most recently competed in PFL and went 1-2 for the promotion against three former UFC fighters. Prior to his win, “The Snake” had won nine straight fights. Fifteen of Andrew’s 16 professional wins have come inside the distance.

Yamauchi (25-4 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) rides a three-fight winning streak into Bellator 254. Since he defeated Daniel Weichel by split decision in November 2018, Yamauchi has picked up back-to-back first-round finishes against Saad Awad and Daron Cruickshank.

With the addition, the Bellator 254 lineup includes:

  • Ilima Lei-Macfarlane vs. Julianna Velasquez – for women’s flyweight title
  • Nate Andrews vs. Goiti Yamauchi
  • Matheus Mattos vs. Magomedov Magomedov
  • Jessica Borga vs. Marina Mokhnatina
  • Tyree Fortune vs. Grant Neal
  • Romero Cotton vs. Justin Sumter

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Bellator 254 adds Magomed Magomedov debut vs. Pitbull Brothers’ Matheus Mattos

Magomed Magomedov, the only man to beat UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan, has his Bellator debut booked.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Former ACB bantamweight champion [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] has a date, opponent, and location for his Bellator debut.

At Bellator 254 on Dec. 10, Magomedov (16-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will make his first promotional appearance against a fellow former ACB title challenger, [autotag]Matheus Mattos[/autotag]. The main-card fight will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Additionally, a featherweight fight between [autotag]Marina Mokhnatkina[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Jessica Borga[/autotag] (3-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) has been added to the card.

A promotion official confirmed the bookings to MMA Junkie on Tuesday after initial reports by Russian news agency TASS.

Magomedov (16-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is the only man to hold a win over current UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. The two Russians have fought twice, with each emerging victorious once.

After beating Yan by split decision at ACB 32 in March 2016, Magomedov lost a rematch by split decision at ACB 57 in April 2017.

Since his rematch loss, Magomedov, 28, has only competed three times, winning all three fights. Of 16 pro victories, Magomedov has finished 11.

Mattos (12-1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is a member of the Pitbull Brothers’ gym and has competed for the ACB bantamweight championship. Like Magomedov, his only professional loss came at the hands of Petr Yan. Ten of Mattos’ pro victories have come inside the distance.

With the additions, the Bellator 254 lineup includes:

  • Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Juliana Velasquez – for Bellator flyweight title
  • Magomed Magomedov vs. Matheus Mattos
  • Jessica Borga vs. Marina Mokhnatkina

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After Bellator 251 win, Sumiko Inaba wants to share December card with Ilima-Lei Macfarlane

Sumiko Inaba spoke to reporters following her first-round finish of Jessica Ruiz at Bellator 251.

[autotag]Sumiko Inaba[/autotag] made good in her professional debut when she stopped Jessica Ruiz in the first round at Bellator 251 on Thursday.

Following her win in the night’s opener, an emotional Inaba (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) spoke to reporters on what the win means to her, being grateful to have a platform, wanting a quick turnaround on the Bellator 254 card with flyweight champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag], and much more.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

Bellator 251 took place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card aired on CBS Sports Network following prelims on MMA Junkie.