Tag: Nikita Mikhailov

Josh Hill out of Bellator bantamweight grand prix, Nikita Mikhailov to face Enrique Barzola

Josh Hill is out of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix and a replacement has been announced to face Enrique Barzola.

The wild card round of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix has a new matchup after a fighter withdrawal.

[autotag]Josh Hill[/autotag] has pulled out from his bout against [autotag]Enrique Barzola[/autotag] due to undisclosed reasons. Hill (21-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) was set to meet Barzola at Bellator 278 on April 22 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

Stepping up to replace hill will be [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag], the promotion announced on Monday.

Mikhailov (9-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will enter the grand prix on a five-fight win streak that includes two wins under the Bellator banner. He most recently finished Blaine Shutt via third rounds ground and pound at Bellator 273 in January.

Barzola (17-5-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), a 10-fight UFC veteran, will keep the date he was preparing for, but now faces a new opponent in his second Bellator bout.

The winner of this fight will move on to face [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] in the semifinals at Bellator 282 on June 24.

With the change, the Bellator 278 lineup now includes:

  • Juliana Velasquez vs. Liz Carmouche
  • Enrique Barzola vs. Nikita Mikhailov
  • Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello
  • Christian Edwards vs. Grant Neal
  • Nate Andrews vs. Manny Muro
  • Weber Almeida vs. Fabricio Franco
  • Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Erik Perez
  • Makoa Cooper vs. Blake Perry
  • Scotty Hao vs. Dante Schiro

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Usman Nurmagomedov gets opponent for Bellator 269; Vitaly Minakov meets new foe

The Bellator 269 lineup is shaping up as Usman Nurmagomedov, Vitaly Minakov, and a handful of other fighters were added to the Oct. 23 card.

Bellator 269 is shaping up.

On Tuesday, the promotion announced a handful of additions – and a change – the Oct. 23 card scheduled for VTB Arena in Moscow. Included in the latest lineup is [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) who takes his third career Bellator assignment against [autotag]Patrik Pietila[/autotag] (11-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Nurmagomedov, , most recently competed at Bellator 263 in July when he defeated Manny Muro via first-round TKO. The younger cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov has been praised by Bellator president Scott Coker as one of the promotion’s top rising stars.

Additionally, with [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] out, the former Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Vitaly Minakov[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) now meets former Titan FC champion [autotag]Said Sowma[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). The fight was first reported by Russian outlet Fight Time.

Minakov, 36, has not competed since August 2019 when he knocked out Tim Johnson in 105 seconds at Bellator 225. The victory returned him into the win column after his first career loss, which came against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216 in February 2019.

Sowma, 28, rides into the matchup the momentum of his first Bellator victory. After a unanimous decision loss to Tyrell Fortune in November 2020, Sowma knocked out former UFC and PFL fighter Ronny Markes in 69 seconds at Bellator 262 in July.

The promotion also announced four prelim fights have also been added to the card including [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMM A) vs. [autotag]Brian Moore[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 5-3 BMMA), [autotag]Grachik Bozinyan[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Ross Houston[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), [autotag]Irina Alekseeva[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Stephanie Ielo Page[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA, and [autotag]Christian Eckerlin[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Alexey Shurkevich[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

The Mikhailov vs. Moore matchup was first reported by Severe MMA, while the Bozinyan vs. Houston fight was first reported by Armenia MMA.

Bellator 269 takes place Oct. 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the Bellator 269 lineup includes:

  • Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson
  • Vitaly Minakov vs. Said Sowma
  • Rustam Khabilov vs. Andrey Koreshkov
  • Nikita Mikhailov vs. Brian Moore
  • Grachik Bozinyan vs. Ross Houston
  • Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Ielo Page
  • Christian Eckerlin vs. Alexey Shurkevich

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