Bellator 292 – Page 4 – Syndication Server

Bellator 292 ceremonial weigh-ins faceoff highlights video, photo gallery from San Jose

Watch as the athletes at Bellator 292 got one last look at each other before the fights.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – All the pre-fight activities are in the books for Bellator 292, the third Bellator event of 2023, following Thursday’s official and ceremonial weigh-ins.

The start of the promotion’s lightweight grand prix headlines the card, which airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. In the main event, reigning Usman Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) takes on Benson Henderson (30-11 MMA, 7-6 BMMA) while the co-main event sees Tofiq Musayev (19-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) take on Alexander Shabliy (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in another quarterfinal contest.

At the ceremonial weigh-ins Friday, the fighters came face to face for final staredowns. Check out the highlights in the video above and a photo gallery in the link below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

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Bellator 292 video: Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson final faceoff for title fight

Bellator champ Usman Nurmagomedov and former UFC champ Benson Henderson had a final staredown before the Bellator 292 headliner.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The stage is set for the next Bellator lightweight title fight on Friday between [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag], which also serves as an opening-round fight in the forthcoming grand prix.

Reigning champion Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) will put his belt and undefeated record in the line when he meets former UFC/WEC champ Henderson (30-11 MMA, 7-6 BMMA) in the Bellator 292 headliner, which takes place at SAP Center and airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

First, though, the pair had to engage in a final staredown at ceremonial weigh-ins, where they both kept cordial ahead of sharing the cage.

Watch the video above to see Nurmagomedov and Henderson face off for Bellator 292.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

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Things will be just fine: All Goiti Yamauchi needed was just a little patience

It’s not that Goiti Yamauchi was taking it slow, but he’s coming up on 10 years in Bellator and a title shot has eluded him so far.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – It’s not that [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] was taking it slow, but he’s coming up on 10 years in Bellator and a title shot has eluded him so far.

But Yamauchi (28-5 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) has been on a serious roll lately with wins in six of his past seven fights. The lone loss in that stretch was a split call against Dan Moret and is one most MMA analysts scored for Yamauchi. And a win over his next opponent, Michael Page (20-2 MMA, 16-2 BMMA), would be his biggest victory yet – and likely would get Yamauchi a welterweight titleshot.

“Yes, 100 percent … 100 percent (the winner gets a title shot),” Yamauchi said at Wednesday’s media day for Bellator 292. “Michael Page was actually the No. 1 contender now. Come back to the rankings. He just fought for the title, and I think that this win will guarantee the title for my next (fight).”

Yamuchi has fought at featherweight and lightweight with Bellator and was in breathing distance of title shots in the past, and almost always in the conversation no matter his division.

But he’s settling in now at welterweight as a 30-year-old and said being close to title shots in the past has helped him slow his roll now.

“The fight game is all about timing and you should be very patient. Compete at the high level and take no damage: That’s what I’m trying to do – no damage. Patience – I know my time is coming. My time is coming. Friday will be the time.”

Bellator 292 takes place Friday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out Yamauchi’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

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Bellator 292 official weigh-in results: Nurmagomedov, Henderson hit marks for grand prix title fight

Check out the results from the official Bellator 292 weigh-ins from San Jose, Calif., featuring Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Thursday’s official Bellator 292 weigh-ins, where the lightweight grand prix fighters hit their marks.

In the main event, lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) takes on challenger Benson Henderson (30-11 MMA, 7-6 BMMA). The bout doubles as a lightweight grand prix quarterfinal. In the co-feature, Tofiq Musayev (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets Alexander Shabliy (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in a quarterfinal on the other side of the bracket.

Henderson was the first fighter to come to the scale in the one-hour official window and was 154.6 pounds. Nurmagomedov came in at 154.8 for his first attempted title defense. In the other opening-round bout, Tofiq Musayev was 155 for his fight against Alexander Shabliy, who was 154.4.

The weigh-ins took place at the Bellator host hotel in San Jose, Calif. The nearby SAP Center hosts Friday’s event, which has a main card on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

The full Bellator 292 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)

Champ Usman Nurmagomedov (154.8) vs. Benson Henderson (154.6) – for lightweight title; lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
Tofiq Musayev (155) vs. Alexander Shabliy (154.4) – lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
Valentin Moldavsky (237.4) vs. Linton Vassell (239.4)
Michael Page (170.8) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (170.6)

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

Enrique Barzola (145.2) vs. Erik Perez (145.4)
Cass Bell (145.2) vs. Josh Hill (136.6) – 146-pound contract weight
Tony Johnson (184.8) vs. Khalid Murtazaliev (186)*
Julius Anglickas (205.8) vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (205.8)
Laird Anderson (146) vs. Rogelio Luna (144.8)
Theo Haig (184.2) vs. Adam Wamsley (185)

*Murtazaliev missed the middleweight limit on his first attempt and was given one hour to cut the additional weight. He made it on his second try.

Bellator 292 video: Champ Usman Nurmagomedov, lightweight grand prix fighters on weight

The first fights in Bellator’s latest grand prix are official after four quarterfinalists made weight Thursday.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The first fights in Bellator’s latest grand prix are official after four quarterfinalists made weight Thursday.

Ahead of Bellator 292, which takes place Friday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-11 MMA, 7-6 BMMA) stepped on the scale at the official weigh-ins, as did quarterfinalists on the other side of the bracket, Tofiq Musayev (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and Alexander Shabliy (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), who meet in the co-main event.

Check out the video from Nurmagomedov and Henderson’s trips to the scale above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

Bellator 292 predictions: Can Benson Henderson upset massive favorite Usman Nurmagomedov?

Check out our staff members’ picks for Bellator 292 in San Jose, Calif., featuring the start of the lightweight grand prix.

	Nurmagomedov vs. Henson	Musayev vs. Shabliy	Moldavsky vs. Vassell	Page vs. Yamauchi
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 23-14	Nurmagomedov (68%)	Shabliy (57%)	Moldavsky (69%)	Page (66%)
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 27-13	Nurmagomedov	Shabliy	Vassell	Page
Nolan King @mma_kings 26-14	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Page
Matt Erickson @MattE 26-14	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Page
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 26-14	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Page
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 25-15 2018, 2022 Champion	Nurmagomedov	Shabliy	Moldavsky	Page
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 24-16	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Page
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 24-16	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Yamauchi
Simon Samano @SJSamano 24-16	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Yamauchi
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 23-17 2014 Champion	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Page
Brian Garcia @thegoze 22-18 2017 Champion	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Page
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 22-18	Nurmagomedov	Musayev	Moldavsky	Page

Bellator is back in its Northern California home base this week with a lightweight title fight at the top of the lineup.

Bellator 292 takes place Friday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) puts his title on the line for the first time since he won the belt this past November against Patricky Freire. He takes on former UFC and WEC lightweight champ and two-time Bellator title challenger [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-11 MMA, 7-6 BMMA) in a fight that doubles as a quarterfinal bout in Bellator’s lightweight grand prix.

Nurmagomedov is a massive favorite at -2500 at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Henderson is +900. Henderson never has been worse than a +350 underdog in his UFC and Bellator career until now. Given the odds, it’s not surprising our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Nurmagomedov as a unanimous pick at 11-0.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) on the other side of the lightweight grand prix bracket. Shabliy is a slight favorite at the betting window, but our pickers may have taken into account Musayev’s 27-second KO win in his Bellator debut, and they have him with a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, former interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) will try to make a case for another shot at champ Ryan Bader when he takes on [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] (23-8 MMA, 11-5 BMMA), who has won four straight. Moldavsky is more than a 3-1 favorite, though, and is a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (20-2 MMA, 16-2 BMMA) is just a slight betting favorite at -125 in his welterweight bout against [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 14-4 BMMA). The winner will be in prime position to ask for a title shot. But despite the close numbers from the oddsmakers, our pickers have Page with a big 9-2 lead.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Nurmagomedov (80 percent), Shabliy (57 percent), Moldavsky (69 percent), and Page 66 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

Alexander Shabliy took steps to be ready for grand prix format at Bellator 292

Alexander Shabliy’s next fight is more than just a typical trip to the cage. He’s in the lightweight tournament that starts at Bellator 292.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag]’s next fight is more than just a typical next fight.

Shabliy (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) is tasked with getting his hand raised against Tofiq Musayev (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in the Bellator 292 co-main event if he wants to move on in the lightweight grand prix. Their fight kicks off the tournament as one of four quarterfinals. Lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov puts his belt on the line for the first time against Benson Henderson in the other opening-round bout on the card.

Shabliy said knowing tournament fights are five-rounders played a key part of his training.

“A lot of effort and thought was put into the fact that those are all going to be five-round fights for me (in the tournament),” Shabliy told MMA Junkie at a Wednesday media day for Bellator 292. “That’s very important because it’s going to be much longer – an extra two rounds. Since I knew it’s going to be different altitude, I started training in the mountains just to make sure I’m prepared for this side of the country and I don’t feel too out of place (in the fight).”

Bellator 292 takes place Friday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out Shabliy’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

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Tofiq Musayev knows his 27-second KO Bellator debut got lightweight division’s attention

Promotional debuts don’t get much better than the one Tofiq Musayev had in July 2022.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Promotional debuts don’t get much better than the one [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] had in July 2022.

Musayev needed just 27 seconds to put Sidney Outlaw away with a knockout that had people buzzing. Although hardcore fans knew of Musayev from his fights for Rizin in Japan, much of the American audience didn’t get a chance to see him until his KO of Outlaw.

“It’s a great feeling to finish your first fight, and that fast,” Musayev told MMA Junkie at a Wednesday media day for Bellator 292 in San Jose, Calif. “My goal here is to come to perform for the fans, to show great fights, to win the audience here – and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing. It’s a great feeling.”

Musayev (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) takes on Alexander Shabliy (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in a quarterfinal bout in Bellator’s lightweight grand prix. They fight in Bellator 292’s co-main event just ahead of lightweight champ Usman Nurmagomedov, who puts his belt on the line against Benson Henderson in another opening-round tournament fight.

Even though Musayev knows who his next opponent will be – the winner of Patricky Freire vs. A.J. McKee later this year – he sees no need to put the cart before the horse.

“I don’t like talking too much,” he said. “I don’t care about the other seven guys in the tournament. I’m here to show my friends who I am, and my job is going to do the talking, not my words.”

Bellator 292 takes place Friday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out Musayev’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

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Michael Page: Title shot next should be result of Bellator 292 win over Goiti Yamauchi

It’s not set in stone, but Michael Page thinks a win Friday should mean his next time out will be with a title on the line.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – It’s not set in stone, but [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] thinks a win Friday should mean his next time out will be with a title on the line.

Page (20-2 MMA, 16-2 BMMA), who fought for an interim welterweight title in May 2022, returns Friday against Goiti Yamauchi (28-5 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) to open the main card at Bellator 292. And while the promotion hasn’t called it an official No. 1 contender fight, that’s precisely what “MVP” thinks is going on.

“I think that’s what it is,” Page said at a Wednesday media day ahead of the fight. “It just makes the most sense that that’s what it is. I don’t see anybody else ready to be in our position. I think the winner of this fight fights the winner of the next title fight, which is most likely going to be Jason Jackson (against champion Yaroslav) Amosov.”

Page lost to Logan Storley in an interim title bout less than a year ago, then had a Bellator-blessed one-off BKFC fight with Mike Perry to stay active. Storley lost his title unification bid against Amosov in February, and Bellator president Scott Coker said afterward that Jackson is next in line for a shot at Amosov’s belt.

If for some reason Page didn’t get a title shot after Friday and was offered a rematch with Storley instead, he said he wouldn’t hesitate.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah – I’m a grudge specialist,” Page told MMA Junkie. “I hold grudges. He’s beat me, so I’d like to run that back and get that back – definitely.”

First, though, he has a stern test against Yamauchi, a jiu-jitsu specialist who has been on a roll with six wins in his past seven fights, including five stoppages. His lone loss in that stretch was by split decision to Dan Moret in a bout the majority of observers scored in Yamauchi’s favor.

A former featherweight and longtime lightweight, Yamauchi said he’s starting to feel at home now at welterweight. And at just 30, he seems to be peaking at the right time.

Page, an elite striker, theoretically should want to stand against the ground wizard. And Yamauchi, the grappling ace, should want to be on the mat where he can limit the kickboxer’s options.

But don’t expect Page to fall into any macho trappings.

“I personally believe it’s as simple as, yeah, I want him in my arena and he wants me in his arena,” Page said. “A comment has been made, supposedly from him, where he says, ‘”MVP” is underestimating my striking.’ I’m not underestimating your striking. I just don’t believe your level of striking is my level.

“And if you want to play striking, I’m happy to do that all day. I think that’s where egos get in the way sometimes, and I don’t think that’s necessary. I value you and I appreciate you and I aspire to get to your level of jiu-jitsu, but I’m not going to try and compete against you just for the sake of so showing that I can do jiu-jitsu. I know I can do jIu-jitsu. I don’t need to prove to anybody that I can do jiu-jitsu. I’m just not your level. I haven’t done it as long as you, and I’m not as skilled as you and I can accept it, put my ego to one side and then just try to knock you out, beause that’s what I do best.”

Bellator 292 takes place Friday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out Page’s full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

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Video: Watch Thursday’s Bellator 292 ceremonial weigh-ins live on MMA Junkie at 4 p.m. ET

Watch a live video stream of the Bellator 292 ceremonial weigh-ins from San Jose, Calif., featuring Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Bellator 292 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Thursday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT).

The weigh-ins take place at the Bellator host hotel in San Jose, Calif. The nearby SAP Center hosts Friday’s event, which has a main card on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In addition to the video stream above, you can check out the early and official Bellator 292 weigh-in results from earlier in the day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.