Tag: Bellator 279

Video: Watch Bellator 277/279 pre-fight press conference live (2:45 p.m. ET)

Watch the Bellator 277/279 pre-fight press conference with AJ McKee, Patricio ‘Pitbull’, Vadim Nemkov, and Corey Anderson.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – You can watch today’s press conference from SAP Center in advance of Bellator 277 here on MMA Junkie starting at 2:45 p.m. ET.

Bellator president [autotag]Scott Coker[/autotag] hosts the event, which features the four competitors in the main and the co-main event of Friday’s card. Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) and former champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (32-5 MMA, 20-5 BMMA) will take part in the press conference ahead of their main event championship rematch. The light heavyweight grand prix championship competitors will also be present, champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).

Bellator 277 takes place on Friday at SAP Center. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

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Juan Archuleta replaces injured Anthony Pettis in grand prix, will fight Raufeon Stots for interim title at Bellator 279

The Bellator bantamweight grand prix will have to go on without champion Sergio Pettis.

The Bellator bantamweight grand prix will have to kick off without the champion as an injury has forced [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] out of his opening bout against teammate [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag].

Now on April 23 at Bellator 279, former champ [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (25-3) will step in to face Stots (17-1) for the interim title at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

A person with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the change but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. CBS Sports was first to report the news.

Archuleta already was tabbed to compete in the eight-man bantamweight tournament but was yet to have an opponent announced. The former champ, who captured the vacant 135-pound title by defeating Patchy Mix at Bellator 246, last competed when he was dethroned by Pettis (22-5) at Bellator 258 in May.

Unbeaten as a Bellator fighter, Stots will head into his first title fight riding a nine-fight winning streak. The 33-year-old is coming off back-to-back wins over Josh Hill and most recently Magomed Magomedov at Bellator 264.

Pettis, the younger brother of former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, would’ve been looking to kick off the grand prix with his second title defense after defeating Kyoji Horiguchi last December with the Knockout of the Year.

With the change, the lineup of Bellator 279 currently includes:

  • Juan Archuleta vs. Raufeon Stots – for interim bantamweight title
  • Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe – for featherweight title
  • Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Patchy Mix
  • Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Justine Kish
  • Yancy Medeiros vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
  • Justin Gonzales vs. Kai Kamaka III

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Scott Coker open to having Yancy Medeiros compete at Bellator Hawaii: ‘If there’s room and he’s available, why not?’

“If there’s room and he’s available, why not? I don’t mind working with him again.”

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Scott Coker wouldn’t mind signing [autotag]Yancy Medeiros[/autotag], but isn’t sure if he’d be a part of Bellator’s return to Hawaii.

Medeiros (15-8-1), who parted ways with the UFC this past August, recently expressed interest in competing on one of Bellator’s back-to-back April cards in his native Hawaii, which take place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

Currently a free agent, Medeiros has worked with Coker in the past under the Strikeforce banner. The Bellator president said he would consider having him compete on one of the Hawaii cards if there’s an opening.

“Yancy started at Strikeforce and we have a good relationship with him and we have a good relationship with a lot of fighters on the island,” Coker said after Bellator 276. “The only thing is if you were to ask me today, right now, we have a lot of fighters under contract that we need to fight and we’ll probably give it to the fighters that are under current contract. But if there’s room and he’s available, why not? I don’t mind working with him again.”

Medeiros was released by the UFC after dropping four straight, most recently a unanimous decision to Damir Hadzovic at UFC Fight Night 190 last June. The 34-year-old’s last win came in a Fight of the Year contender against Alex Oliveira at UFC 218 in December 2017.

Bellator returns to Hawaii for back-to-back events featuring Cyborg, bantamweight grand prix, more

Bellator is heading back to Hawaii for two events on back-to-back nights, featuring Cris Cyborg and start of the bantamweight grand prix.

Bellator is going back to Hawaii in a big way.

The promotion returns to the islands for a pair of events on back-to-back nights at Neal S. Blaisdell Center for Bellator 278 on April 22 and Bellator 279 on April 23. The events will feature multiple title fights as [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (25-2) is set to face [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (15-8) in a featherweight championship rematch and [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (22-5) takes on [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (17-1) as a part of the $1 million bantamweight grand prix. MMA Junkie confirmed the news following an initial report from KHON2.

Bellator was last in Hawaii in Dec. 2019, when the promotion ran Bellator 235 and Bellator 236 on back-to-back nights.

Although no fights have been announced for Bellator 278, the Bellator 279 card is stacking up with a strong lineup. In addition to the title fights, [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] (29-4) will face [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (15-1) in a first-round bantamweight grand prix match and Hawaii’s own [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (11-1) returns to action to meet [autotag]Justine Kish[/autotag] (7-5).

Following preliminary bouts, the main card for Bellator 278 is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET and the main card for Bellator 279 starts at 4:30 p.m. ET. Both events will air live on Showtime.

The lineup of Bellator 279 currently includes:

  • Champ Sergio Pettis vs. Raufeon Stots – for bantamweight title
  • Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe – for featherweight title
  • Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Patchy Mix
  • Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Justine Kish

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