Tag: Usman Nurmagomedov

Bellator 255 lineup finalized; Patricio Freire vs. Emmanuel Sanchez tops 13-fight card

On Friday, Bellator returns with it’s first event of 2021 – and its Showtime debut.

Barring any unforeseen fight week cancellations, the Bellator 255 lineup is set.

Tuesday, promotion officials announced the finalized 13-fight card and bout order, which includes a five-fight main card and eight prelims. Bellator 255 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

The event is headlined by Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (31-4 MMA, 19-4 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 12-3 BMMA) who will face off in a grand prix semifinal fight.

In the co-main event, welterweight contenders [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) will face off in a fight that could have potential title shot implications for the winner.

Rounding out the main card is a heavyweight rematch between [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Jack May[/autotag] (11-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), the promotional debut of [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) as he takes on [autotag]Mike Hamel[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at lightweight, and a women’s flyweight fight between [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) and [autotag]Kana Watanabe[/autotag] (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).

The finalized Bellator 255 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Champion Patricio Freire vs. Emmanuel Sanchez – for Bellator featherweight title, grand prix semifinal
  • Neiman Gracie vs. Jason Jackson
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Jack May
  • Mike Hamel vs. Usman Nurmagomedov
  • Alejandra Lara vs. Kana Watanabe

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Cee Jay Hamilton[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mukhamad Berkhamov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Herman Terrado[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Mandel Nallo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ricardo Seixas[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Fabio Aguiar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khalid Murtazaliev[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Roger Huerta[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jose Augusto[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jonathan Wilson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Trevor Gudde[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Branko Busick[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jordan Newman[/autotag]

Bellator 255: Make your predictions for Patricio Freire vs. Emmanuel Sanchez 2

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 255 event in Connecticut.

We want your predictions for Fridady’s Bellator 255 event in Connecticut.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 255 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. Bellator 255 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Make your picks for the fights below.

Bellator signs Usman Nurmagomedov, cousin of UFC champ Khabib, to multiyear deal

Like the UFC, Bellator now has an unbeaten Nurmagomedov on its roster.

Like the UFC, Bellator now has an unbeaten Nurmagomedov on its roster.

The promotion Friday announced it has signed [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) to a multiyear, multi-fight deal. Nurmagomedov is a younger cousin of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and one of his training partners, as well.

“With (Friday’s) signing of Usman Nurmagomedov, we are making it clear that Bellator is home to the best fighters on the planet and an organization where the sport’s future stars are coming to compete,” Bellator president Scott Coker stated. “I am thrilled to have Usman join the promotion and he will be placed in an immediate position to showcase his skills and contend at 155 pounds. We hope to have him in action inside the Bellator cage by December or January.”

Like his more famous and more established cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov fights at lightweight. He trains at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., alongside Khabib, and also was trained by Khabib’s father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov in Dagestan prior to Abdulmanap’s death earlier this year.

Usman Nurmagomedov’s resume includes finishes in 10 of his career wins, including several in the first round. Known for standout wrestling, like his cousin, as well as muay Thai, Nurmagomedov has seven knockouts and three submissions in those 10 stoppages.

Most recently, he finished Svyatoslav Shabanov with a second-round TKO at a Fight Nights Global event in early September, which gave him five straight stoppage wins after the lone decision of his career.

In Bellator’s lightweight division, he’ll eventually be gunning for champion Patricio Freire, who holds the title at lightweight as well as featherweight. A former champion in the division, Michael Chandler, recently left Bellator for the UFC. But the promotion still counts the likes of former UFC and WEC champ Benson Henderson, Patricky Freire and former champ Brent Primus among its contenders at 155 pounds.

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