A bundle of fights has recently been announced for Bellator’s trio of events that are set to happen in April. All of the fights will take place behind closed doors at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
Huerta vs. Gonzalez Booked For Bellator 255
Undefeated lightweight prospect Chris Gonzalez will get his biggest challenge yet as a pro on April 2nd, as he will fight veteran Roger Huerta at Bellator 255. Adam Guillen Jr. of MMA Mania reported the story first.
Gonzalez has won five fights in his pro career so far, with four of those bouts taking place in Bellator. His last fight was in August, where he handed Vladimir Tokov his first pro loss in a split decision bout.
Huerta will look to break a three-fight losing streak with the bout. The former UFC and ONE Championship fighter has lost to notable names like Benson Henderson and Patricky Pitbull in his current Bellator run.
Huerta was scheduled to compete in September against Derek Campos, although the fight was cancelled due to injury. Huerta has been out of action for over a year now.
Five Fights Join Bellator 256’s Prelims
Bellator’s prelims have received five news bouts in recent days. The new matchups have all been confirmed by the promotion via their website.
Appearing under the Bellator banner for the fifth time, Dalton Rosta will look to extend his undefeated pro MMA record when fighting Tony Johnson. Both fighters enter the bout after putting together long win streaks that include multiple fights for Bellator.
Looking to bounce back after taking his first pro loss to Raufeon Stots last year, Cass Bell will fight Jornel Lugo. Lugo, still undefeated, will be making his third appearance for Bellator.
Returning after winning his pro debut last year, Jaylon Bates will face Jeffrey Glossner, a fellow bantamweight who has been a pro since 2018.
Diana Avsaragova will make her Bellator debut on the prelims, fighting Tara Graff in a flyweight bout.
Nainoa Dung and Izzy William will look to break losing streaks when paired for Bellator’s April 9th card. Dung has lost his last two Bellator appearances, fighting to a decision against Zach Zane and getting stopped with strikes by Charlie Campbell. William enters Bellator after losing a decision to Jordan Leavitt last year.
Arteaga vs. Yanez Rebooked, Carvalho vs. Weichel Being Planned
A flyweight bout between Veta Arteaga and Desiree Yanez has been rebooked, now taking place at Bellator’s April 16th card. The matchup was first confirmed by Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
The fight was first booked for a show in October, although it was later removed due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Yanez will be making her Bellator debut after a two-fight stint in Combate Americas. She lost a title fight to Melissa Martinez via split decision in her last outing.
Bellator are also currently planning on booking a featherweight bout between Pedro Carvalho and Daniel Weichel. While the fight hasn’t been confirmed it is currently being planned, per a report from Guilherme Cruz and Damon Martin of MMA Fighting.
Carvalho and Weichel are being matched after both losing in the quarterfinals of Bellator’s Featherweight Grand Prix.
Carvalho was stopped by Bellator Featherweight Champion Patricio Pitbull in his last fight, taking him out of action in the third minute of their bout.
Weichel lost a five-round decision in the bracket to Emmanuel Sanchez. The fight was his third loss in five fights.
Here are how the lineups for Bellator’s April shows look with the new fights in place.
Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 – 4/2/21
Bout 8: Patricio Pitbull (31-4) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (20-4) (Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinals)
Bout 7: Usman Nurmagomedov (11-0) vs. Mike Hamel (7-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Jared Scoggins (10-1) vs. Magomed Magomedov (17-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: Matt Mitrione (13-8) vs. Tyrell Fortune (9-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Neiman Gracie (10-1) vs. Jason Jackson (13-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Kana Watanabe (9-0-1) vs. Alejandra Lara (9-3) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Keoni Diggs (9-0) vs. Mandel Nallo (7-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Mads Burnell (14-3) vs. Saul Rogers (14-3) (Featherweight)
Bellator 256: Bader vs. Machida 2 – 4/9/21
Bout 9: Ryan Bader (27-6) vs. Lyoto Machida (26-10) (Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 8: Corey Anderson (14-5) vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (18-5-1) (Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 6: Jeremy Kennedy (16-2) vs. Adam Borics (16-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Diana Avsaragova (2-0) vs. Tara Graff (1-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Nainoa Dung (3-2) vs. Izzy William (4-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Cass Bell (5-1) vs. Jornel Lugo (5-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Jaylon Bates (1-0) vs. Jeffrey Glossner (2-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Dalton Rosta (4-0) vs. Tony Johnson (9-2) (Middleweight)
Bellator 257: Nemkov vs. Davis 2 – 4/16/21
Bout 7: Vadim Nemkov (13-2) vs. Phil Davis (22-5) (Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 6: Anthony Johnson (22-6) vs. Yoel Romero (13-5) (Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 5: Aaron Pico (7-3) vs. Aiden Lee (9-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Paul Daley (42-17-2) vs. Sabah Homasi (15-8) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Veta Arteaga (5-4) vs. Desiree Yanez (5-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Pedro Carvalho (11-4) vs. Daniel Weichel (40-12) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Julia Budd (14-3) vs. Dayana Silva (9-5) (Featherweight)
CORRECTION 4/6/21: The date of the fight between Julia Budd and Dayana Silva has been corrected from April 9th to April 16th.
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