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Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Bellator 298 in Sioux Falls.
Bellator is back Stateside this week after a trip to Japan, and welterweight standouts top the lineup.
Here’s how to watch Bellator 298 in Sioux Falls, S.D., with a complete lineup and look at the top fights.
NCAA champion and U.S. Olympic Team Member Jordan Oliver announced his jump to MMA earlier this year – and now he has a fight set.
2020 U.S. Olympic Team member [autotag]Jordan Oliver[/autotag] has his first MMA fight locked in.
After four months of MMA-centric training at Kill Cliff FC in Deerfield Beach, Fla., Oliver (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will debut Aug. 11 at Bellator 298. He faces [autotag]Andrew Triolo[/autotag] (0-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a featherweight bout at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. A promotion official informed MMA Junkie of the bout Tuesday.
A freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, Oliver signed with Bellator in March. He wrestled four years at Oklahoma State University. Oliver is a 2019 U.S. national champion (freestyle), a two-time NCAA Division-I national champion (folkstyle), a four-time NCAA Division-I All-American, and a four-time Big 12 Conference champion (folkstyle).
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After college, Oliver set his sights on the Olympics. In 2021, he was a 2020 U.S. Olympic Team member as the representative in 65kg men’s freestyle wrestling, but didn’t qualify in the 2021 World Olympic Qualifier.
“I look at this as something bigger than the Olympic gold,” Oliver told MMA Junkie shortly after his signing. “This would mean more to me than Olympic gold. At the time I’m coming in and the work I’m going to have to put in, not only to win, but to win with style and dominate, I think it’ll fulfill me more to win a Bellator world title as a fighter.”
Triolo, 31, made his professional MMA debut in April 2022 for LFA. He lost to fellow debutant Adamu Isah by first-round TKO and has not competed since.
With the addition, the Bellator 298 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie/YouTube, 5:30 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
After the removal of Cris Lencioni, Bellator 298 features a new matchup for James Gallagher as he fights an Aljamain Sterling teammate.
[autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] has a new Bellator 298 opponent following the removal of [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag].
[autotag]James Gonzalez[/autotag], a teammate of UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, has accepted the bout and will battle Gallagher in a bantamweight matchup Aug. 11 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A promotion official with knowledge of the matchup Monday confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report by MMA Fighting.
Gonzalez (10-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), 32, is a training partner of Sterling’s at Longo and Weidman MMA in Garden City, N.Y. He steps into another opportunity as a likely underdog against a Bellator mainstay, similarly to the time he defeated then-undefeated Cody Law at Bellator 282 in June 2022.
Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) , 26, has not competed since a November 2021 submission loss to Patchy Mix at Bellator 270 in his native Dublin. He pulled out of back-to-back fights due to injury prior to the Lencioni booking.
Lencioni, 28, was recently removed from the bout, as he remains in intensive care following a cardiac arrest suffered during training in early June. The most recent update posted to a GoFundMe account was from June 23. The fundraiser has raised over $27,000 for Lencioni.
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With the change, the Bellator 298 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, YouTube, 5:30 p.m. ET)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
Bellator has officially pulled Cris Lencioni from his fight with James Gallagher after he suffered cardiac arrest earlier this month.
The Bellator 298 lineup unsurprisingly has lost a fight while gaining five others.
In a press release announcing the five new bouts Thursday, Bellator also removed [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag] from the lineup. While the release made no mention of Lencioni’s removal, a promotion official confirmed to MMA Junkie that he won’t compete at Bellator 298 after it was revealed last week that the 28-year-old is in intensive care following a cardiac arrest suffered in training. There haven’t been any updates on his condition since.
Bellator intends to find a replacement for Gallagher, who hasn’t competed since a submission loss to current interim bantamweight champion Patchy Mix in November 2021. Gallagher’s previous two fight bookings prior to Lencioni were canceled.
Among the five additions, flyweight [autotag]Diana Avsaragova[/autotag] will look to remain undefeated when she takes on UFC veteran Justine Kish. Avsaragova (6-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) is coming off a split decision win over Alejandra Lara in February at Bellator 290.
Below is the updated Bellator 298 lineup:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, YouTube, 5:30 p.m. ET)
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
James Gallagher’s Bellator return in South Dakota will come at 145 pounds.
[autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag]’s return will come at 145 pounds.
Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) meets [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) at Bellator 298 on Aug. 11 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A person with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking, but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Severe MMA was first to report the matchup.
Gallagher hasn’t competed since a Round 3 submission loss to new interim champion Patchy Mix in November 2021. The 26-year-old has withdrew from the bantamweight grand prix due to a hand injury that required surgery, as well as bouts against Brett Johns and Leandro Higo. Prior to his loss to Mix, Gallagher was on a four-fight winning streak, including three by submission.
Lencioni is coming off a second-round inverted triangle submission finish of Blake Smith at Bellator 294 in April. “Sunshine” currently is on a four-fight winning streak.
With the addition, the Bellator 298 lineup includes:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
