World Heavyweight Championship Unification Bout Set For BELLATOR 273 In Phoenix, Arizona
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BELLATOR MMA Heavyweight World Champion Ryan Bader (28-7, 1 NC) returns to the division following his impressive run in the BELLATOR Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix and will now meet interim heavyweight kingpin Valentin Moldavsky (11-1) to headline BELLATOR MMA 273: Bader vs. Moldavsky. The long-awaited title unification bout takes place on Saturday, January 29 (Sunday, January 30, Manila time) at the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury. In addition, former bantamweight world champion Darrion Caldwell(14-5) returns to action against the winner of Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2, Enrique Barzola (16-5-2), who makes his BELLATOR debut.
A former two-division champion, Ryan Bader has had nothing but high-profile bouts since signing with BELLATOR MMA in 2017, defeating Fedor Emelianenko, King Mo, Matt Mitrione, Linton Vassell, Lyoto Machida, Phil Davis and has gone toe-to-toe with Vadim Nemkov, Corey Anderson and Cheick Kongo. A winner in eight of his last 11 bouts, Arizona State University’s “Darth” Bader will once again have a partisan crowd in attendance when he meets Valentin Moldavksy at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. Making his return to the heavyweight division for the first time since 2019, Bader’s last title defense came against the aforementioned Kongo, a bout Bader was controlling until an accidental eye poke prematurely ended the contest.
The winner of the first-ever interim title in BELLATOR history, Valentin Moldavsky became Bader’s mandatory challenger following a dominant win over Tim Johnson at BELLATOR 261. Training under the tutelage of heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, Moldavsky has begun carving out his own legacy, accruing a perfect 6-0 record within the confines of the BELLATOR cage. A multi-time European Sambo champion, Moldavsky has defeated top heavyweight contenders such as Johnson, Javy Ayala, Linton Vassell, and Roy Nelson on his climb to the top. Born in Ukraine, the 30-year-old looks to join teammate Vadim Nemkov and become the undisputed champion of the heavyweight division on January 29.
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2022 Is The Year Of The BELLATOR Bantamweight World Grand Prix
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BELLATOR MMA officially announced during BELLATOR 272: Pettis vs. Horiguchi last December 3, 2021 that the next installment of its prestigious World Grand Prix will take place in the promotion's incredibly stacked bantamweight division. The 135-pound World Champion Sergio Pettis (22-5) will defend his title at the said tournament next year featuring a gauntlet of the eight best athletes the weight class has to offer.
The BELLATOR MMA Bantamweight World Grand Prix is also set to feature former BELLATOR MMA Bantamweight World Champions Kyori Horiguchi (29-4) and the number one ranked Juan Archuleta (25-3), Raufeon Stots (17-1), Patchy Mix (15-1), Magomed Magomedov (18-2), Leandro Higo (21-5) and James Gallagher (11-2) who will all vie for the right to be named the next BELLATOR MMA Bantamweight World Champion and take home the grand prize of US$1 million in cash.
First-round matchups and additional details such as dates, locations and alternate matchups will be disclosed soon. All tournament bouts will be five-round contests and will be broadcasted in the United States exclusively on SHOWTIME and worldwide on BELLATOR MMA's official YouTube channel.
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BELLATOR Returns To Dublin, Ireland On February 25
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BELLATOR MMA Middleweight World Champion Gegard Mousasi (48-7, 2 NC) defends his crown against undefeated #1-ranked middleweight Austin Vanderford (11-0) on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022 (Saturday, February 26, Manila time), as Dublin’s electrifying 3Arena plays host to a BELLATOR world title fight for the second time in four months with BELLATOR DUBLIN: Mousasi vs. Vanderford.
The co-main event sees Irish star and #5-ranked lightweight Peter Queally (14-5) return to action against Manchester, England’s Kane Mousah (13-4), as he looks to rebound from his recent title challenge at BELLATOR 270 last November. In addition, a pair of lightweight contests are confirmed for the event, when Charlie Leary (17-11-1) takes on Davy Gallon (19-7-2) and Junior Morgan (3-0) faces Darragh Kelly, who’s 9-0 as an amateur and will be making his professional debut on Feb. 25. Fellow home favorite Brian “The Pikeman” Moore (14-8) is also set to compete on the card with his opponent yet to be confirmed.
A two-time BELLATOR MMA Middleweight World Champion, Mousasi enjoyed his first reign in 2018, winning the title against Rafael Carvalho and defending it against Rory MacDonald, before losing a thrilling match-up to Rafael Lovato Jr. The Dutchman reclaimed his title in a huge clash with former welterweight champion Douglas Lima in October 2020 before another successful defense against John Salter in August 2021. Currently ranked fourth in the BELLATOR pound-for-pound rankings, Mousasi will be looking to produce fireworks in front of a packed 3Arena crowd.
Austin Vanderford has quickly established himself as one of the best middleweights on the planet, boasting an 11-0 career professional record.Since signing for BELLATOR in 2019, he is undefeated in five bouts, including a thrilling unanimous decision win over Fabian Edwardsearlier this year at BELLATOR 259. The #1 ranked American Top Team product will look to emulate his training partner and reigning welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov by becoming a BELLATOR world champion in his first attempt. Queally, meanwhile, who is currently ranked #5 in the lightweight division, will look to use the might of the home crowd to help him secure a decisive win over Mousah. Queally will be looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking title fight defeat to Patricky “Pitbull” Freire in front of the same Dublin crowd at BELLATOR 270 in November. The SBG standout is known for his exciting style and electrifying walkouts and will be looking to climb the lightweight rankings again and put his name back into title contention with a dominant victory.
After more than 18 months away from the 3Arena, BELLATOR’S return to the iconic Dublin venue twice in the space of four months is sure to be met with delight from the loyal Irish MMA fans. With another title on the line and one of the most iconic names on the BELLATOR roster in Gegard Mousasi competing at the top of the card against the #1 ranked competitor in Austin Vanderford, it promises to be a night to remember in the Irish capital. If Queally secures his comeback win in the co-main, it will become one of the great nights in Irish MMA history.
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U-NEXT Is Exclusive Streaming Partner Of BELLATOR MMA In Japan
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| (Image Source: PRTimes Japan/BELLATOR MMA) |
BELLATOR MMA announced that U-NEXT has become the promotion’s new exclusive broadcast partner in Japan beginning with the recently concluded BELLATOR 272: Pettis vs. Horiguchi, which took place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA on December 3 and aired live the next day in Japanese standard time (JST) The exclusive two-year streaming agreement will see U-NEXT air all BELLATOR live events, including preliminary bouts and a library of past events available on demand.
BELLATOR MMA hosts over 30 live events annually across the globe featuring many of the sport’s best fighters. In addition to Horiguchi, BELLATOR is home to several Japanese mixed martial artists including Shinsho Anzai, Keita Nakamura, Kana Watanabe and Goiti Yamauchi. “We are very excited to be able to have our fights air in Japan on the U-NEXT network. Throughout the history of this great sport, Japan has always had a ton of dedicated and knowledgeable MMA fans and we are thrilled to be able to regularly bring them our great events,” said BELLATOR MMA President Scott Coker. U-NEXT President and Representative Director Tenshin Tsutsumi commented, “I am very pleased to be able to deliver the world’s famous martial arts competition BELLATOR to Japanese viewers. We hope every MMA fan in Japan will enjoy the fight through our live streaming service.”
