Tag: Bellator 292

Video: Bellator lightweight grand prix fighters face off for first time

Take a look as the participants for the Bellator lightweight grand prix came face to fight for the first time.

LOS ANGELES – Bellator is hosting a lightweight grand prix this year, and for the first time Friday, the promotion brought all eight participants together for a news conference, followed by faceoffs.

The tournament kicks off March 10 at Bellator 292 in San Jose, Calif., where champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) defends the title against [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-11MMA, 7-6 BMMA) in a quarterfinal. Also that night, [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Alexander Shabliy[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).

On May 12 at Bellator Paris, [autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in a quarterfinal. The remaining quarterfinal between [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (20-1MMA, 20-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) has yet to be booked for an event date and location.

In the video above, you can watch all the opponents come face to face.

[lawrence-related id=2610339]

Bellator 292 adds return of Keri Taylor-Melendez, Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell rematch

The Bellator 292 lineup continues to fill with some notable names – one of which hasn’t competed for over two years.

After more than two years out of competitive action, [autotag]Keri Taylor-Melendez[/autotag] is back.

At Bellator 292, which takes place March 10 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., Taylor-Melendez (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) will compete on the prelims against [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] (6-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) in a women’s flyweight bout.

Additionally, a main card heavyweight contender rematch between [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] (23-8 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) has been added to the event.

A promotion official recently informed MMA Junkie of both bouts.

Taylor-Melendez, 38, is the wife of former UFC title challenger and former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. She has competed intermittently since her debut in 2016 with three finishes in five wins. She most recently competed in November 2020, but was booked to fight in February 2022 before the bout was canceled.

Ellen, 26, has alternated wins and losses over her past six fights dating back to August 2017. She enters the bout off a unanimous decision loss to Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in August.

Moldavsky, 30, and Vassell, 39, fought at Bellator 218 in March 2019. Moldavsky defeated Vassell by unanimous decision. Since the first meeting, Vassell has not lost. He rides a four-fight winning streak with victories over Tim Johnson, Tyrell Fortune, Ronny Markes and Sergei Kharitonov. Moldavsky is 3-1 with a no contest in five bouts since the Vassell win. The lone loss was a unanimous decision in a heavyweight title challenge against Ryan Bader.

With the addition, the Bellator 292 lineup includes:

  • Champion Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson – grand prix quarterfinal for lightweight title
  • Tofiq Musayev vs. Alexander Shabliy – grand prix quarterfinal
  • Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell
  • Bruna Ellen vs. Keri Taylor-Melendez
  • Enrique Barzola vs. Erik Perez
  • Cass Bell vs. Josh Hill
  • Wladmir Gouvea vs. Sean Tucker
  • Theo Haig vs. Adam Wamsley

[vertical-gallery id=391887]

James Gallagher set to face Leandro Higo at Bellator 292 in San Jose

A fun bantamweight matchup between James Gallagher and Leandro Higo has been added to Bellator 292 in San Jose, Calif.

A fun bantamweight matchup has been added to the upcoming Bellator 292 card.

Wednesday the promotion officially announced [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] will share the Bellator cage with [autotag]Leandro Higo[/autotag] at the event set to take place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. on March 10. The event airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) will return to the cage for the first time since a submission loss to Patchy Mix at Bellator 270 in November 2021. Due to injury, he was forced out of last year’s bantamweight grand prix, and later had to pull out of a scheduled fight against Brett Johns at Bellator 285.

Prior to his loss to Mix, Gallagher, 26, ripped through four straight opponents, finishing Steven Graham, Roman Salazar and Cal Ellenor in the first round.

Higo (21-6 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) was also set back in his last outing, ending up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision against Danny Sabatello in the bantamweight grand prix quarterfinals. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak which included second-round submissions of Shawn Bunch and Ricky Bandejas.

The 33-year-old Higo will not only look to get back into the win column, but also stay above .500 in Bellator.

With the addition, the Bellator 292 lineup includes:

  • Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson – for lightweight title/grand prix quarterfinal
  • Tofiq Musayev vs. Alexander Shabily – lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
  • James Gallagher vs. Leandro Higo
  • Enrique Barzola vs. Erik Perez
  • Cass Bell vs. Josh Hill
  • Wladmir Gouvea vs. Sean Tucker
  • Theo Haig vs. Adam Wamsley

[listicle id=2609830]

Erik Perez vs. Enrique Barzola booked for Bellator 292

“Goyito” Perez returns for his first fight in almost two years.

[autotag]Erik Perez[/autotag] is back.

The Mexican star is set to take on Peru’s [autotag]Enrique Barzola[/autotag] on March 10 as part of the line-up for Bellator 292 in San Jose. The bout will be contested at bantamweight.

Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

[lawrence-related id=2609028,2608804]

Perez (20-8 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) hasn’t competed in well over a year. He was last seen in action when he defeated Blaine Shutt in a unanimous decision back in May 2021 at Bellator 258. Perez was supposed to return in April 2022 against Cee Jay Hamilton, but was forced to withdraw due to undisclosed reasons.”Goyito,” a pioneer for MMA in Mexico, is 6-2 since leaving the UFC in 2014.

Barzola (18-7-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) looks to rebound from two consecutive defeats, the first time he has back-to-back losses in his career. “El Fuerte” lost to Juan Archuleta and Magomed Magomedov in his most recent outings. Prior to that, Barzola had a 2-0 start in Bellator, defeating former champion Darrion Caldwell and Nikita Mikhailov.

[vertical-gallery id=2586622]