Tag: Bellator London

With Andrey Koreshkov out, Paul Daley gets new opponent for Bellator 281 in London

Paul Daley will get a new opponent for his final walk to the cage.

[autotag]Paul Daley[/autotag] will get a new opponent for his final walk to the cage.

Former welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov has been forced out of Bellator 281 in London, and [autotag]Wendell Giacomo[/autotag] will step in on short notice to face Daley on May 13 at OVO Arena Wembley, promotion officials announced Tuesday.

Giacomo (9-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a Pitbull Brothers fighter, has won eight of his past nine fights. He was last seen in action as an alternate for the LFA welterweight grand prix, where the Brazilian defeated Uyran Carlos by unanimous decision in July but couldn’t continue in the tournament after he wasn’t cleared to compete.

Meanwhile, Daley (43-18-2 MMA, 9-5 BMMA) will have his projected retirement fight on home soil. The 39-year-old veteran is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jason Jackson at Bellator 260 in what was his third straight catchweight bout at 175 pounds. Prior to that, the hard-hitting Brit scored wins over Erick Silva, Saad Awad, and Sabah Homasi.

With the change, the Bellator 281 lineup includes:

  • Michael Page vs. Logan Storley – for interim welterweight title
  • Fabian Edwards vs. Lyoto Machida
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kana Watanabe
  • Paul Daley vs. Wendell Giacomo
  • Daniel Weichel vs. Robert Whiteford
  • Alan Carlos vs. Charlie Ward
  • Simon Biyong vs. Luke Trainer
  • Alfie Davis vs. Tim Wilde
  • Kate Jackson vs. Elina Kallionidou
  • Oliver Enkamp vs. Mark Lemminger
  • Lanchana Green vs. Chiara Penco
  • Lee Chadwick vs. Maciej Rozanski
  • Andrew Fisher vs. Attila Korkmaz
  • Arunas Andriuskevicus vs. David Trallero

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Yaroslav Amosov withdraws from Bellator 281; Michael Page now faces Logan Storley for interim title

Yaroslav Amosov has opted to remain in his war-torn country of Ukraine rather than fight as planned at Bellator 281.

Welterweight champion [autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] will not be competing at Bellator 281.

Amosov, a native of Ukraine, has opted to stay in his home country amid war with Russia and withdrew from his May 13 headliner against [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] at Bellator 281, the promotion announced Wednesday.

Stepping in to replace Amosov (26-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) will be [autotag]Logan Storley[/autotag], who meets Page for the interim welterweight title at The OVO Arena, Wembley, promotion officials announced Wednesday morning.

“Like the rest of the world, we’ve been shocked by the tragic events in Ukraine and the thoughts of everyone at Bellator MMA are with Yaroslav and all the Ukrainian people during this time,” Bellator president Scott Coker said in a statement. “We wish he and his family the best and look forward to seeing him return safely to happier times, both inside and out of the Bellator cage.”

Storley (13-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) is fresh off a big win over Neiman Gracie at Bellator 274 last month, which served as the promotion’s first five-round, non-title headliner. The standout wrestler’s lone loss came at the hands of Amosov and although he won’t get his desired wish to rematch him, he’ll get an opportunity to compete for a portion of the welterweight gold.

Since suffering his first-career loss to Lima in the Bellator grand prix semifinals in May 2019, Page (20-1 MMA, 16-1 BMMA) has won six fights in a row. He was able to avenge his knockout loss to Lima in his most recent outing last October when he edged him out at Bellator 267 in London.

With the change, the Bellator 281 lineup includes:

  • Michael Page vs. Logan Storley – for interim welterweight title
  • Jason Jackson vs. Douglas Lima
  • Fabian Edwards vs. Lyoto Machida
  • Paul Daley vs. Andrey Koreshkov
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kana Watanabe
  • Simon Biyong vs. Luke Trainer
  • Daniel Weichel vs. Robert Whiteford
  • Alfie Davis vs. Tim Wilde
  • Kate Jackson vs. Elina Kallionidou
  • Oliver Enkamp vs. Mark Lemminger
  • Andrew Fisher vs. Attila Korkmaz
  • Lee Chadwick vs. Maciej Rozanski
  • Arunas Andriuskevicus vs. David Trallero
  • Lanchana Green vs. Chiara Penco

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Lyoto Machida vs. Fabian Edwards joins Bellator London lineup on May 13

Lyoto Machida will look to snap his losing skid when he returns to 185 pounds against Fabian Edwards.

[autotag]Lyoto Machida[/autotag] will look to snap his losing skid when he returns to middleweight.

Machida (26-11 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) meets ranked contender [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) at Bellator London on May 13, promotion officials announced Wednesday.

After picking up wins over Rafael Carvalho and Chael Sonnen to kick off his Bellator tenure, former UFC light heavyweight champion Machida has dropped three straight to Gegard Mousasi, Phil Davis, and most recently Ryan Bader in the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix last April.

Meanwhile, Edwards also will look to get back on track. The 28-year-old Birmingham, England native won his first eight professional bouts before losing back-to-back decisions to Costello van Steenis and Austin Vanderford. Edwards was scheduled to face Marian Dimitrov at Bellator 275 in Dublin, but the Feb. 25 bout was scrapped from the card.

With the addition, the Bellator London lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Yaroslav Amosov vs. Michael Page – for welterweight title
  • Jason Jackson vs. Douglas Lima
  • Fabian Edwards vs. Lyoto Machida
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kana Watanabe
  • Simon Biyong vs. Luke Trainer

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 12:30 p.m. ET)

  • Daniel Weichel vs. Robert Whiteford
  • Alfie Davis vs. Tim Wilde
  • Kate Jackson vs. Elina Kallionidou

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Yaroslav Amosov vs. Michael Page set for Bellator London main event on May 13

Yaroslav Amosov’s first title defense is official.

[autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag]’s first title defense is official.

After Scott Coker told MMA Junkie in a recent interview that Amosov will be facing [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] in London, the promotion officially announced the fight Monday morning.

Amosov (26-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) puts his welterweight title on the line against Page (20-1 MMA, 16-1 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator London, which takes place Friday, May 13 at The SSE Arena, Wembley.

Amosov captured the promotion’s 170-pound title when he dominated Douglas Lima at Bellator 260 in June. Unbeaten in his pro MMA career, the 28-year-old Ukrainian combat sambo champion has finished 19 of his 26 pro wins and will look to notch his first title defense against the streaking Page on enemy territory.

Since suffering his first-career loss to Lima in the Bellator grand prix semifinals in May 2019, “MVP” has won six straight. He was able to avenge his knockout loss to Lima in his most recent outing in October. when he edged him out at Bellator 267 in London.

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Bellator’s Cal Ellenor doesn’t care if James Gallagher isn’t next – he just wants to fight

After seeing his fight with James Gallagher scrapped for a third time, Cal Ellenor says he just wants to fight, regardless of the opponent.

The [autotag]Cal Ellenor[/autotag] vs. [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] matchup has been scrapped yet again.

The pair first was matched this past September in the Bellator Dublin main event, but Ellenor was forced off the card due to medical clearance issues. They were rebooked to fight in February in another Dublin headliner, but it was Gallagher who was forced out due to injury.

Finally, they were matched up for the main event of the upcoming Bellator London card on May 16. But, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the next three Bellator events have been suspended indefinitely.

It means it’s been over a year since Ellenor (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) last fought, when he submitted Nathan Greyson in the first round at Bellator Europe 1 in Newcastle. Now he’s just eager to get back in there, regardless of the opponent.

“Obviously, it’s a good fight to make for where the division’s at now and stuff like that,” Ellenor told MMA Junkie. “I feel like it’s a good stylistic fight, as well. Obviously, it’s been built up now but at the same time, it’s been that long in the making now, it’s just like, I’m not bothered if I fight James or not. I just want to fight somebody. So if it is James, and it comes back around, I do think the fight will eventually happen one day but if it’s our next fight then cool. If not, then it is what it is.”

Throughout the cancellations, the pre-fight trash talk continued to build up, and the two engaged in a heated face-off and had to be separated when Gallagher confronted Ellenor at the Bellator showcase event in New York last month.

But Ellenor isn’t worried about the matchup potentially falling through again. He’s confident that they will fight regardless, at some point in their careers.

“I feel like we’re going to meet on the same path anyway, so I just want to fight,” Ellenor said. “If they say James is next, I’ll sign again as I have every other time and, if not, whoever it is next, I’ll fight anyway. I just want to get busy and get back to being active.”