A series of new matchups have been recently confirmed for Bellator’s upcoming events in April and May. All of the fights are set to happen at the promotion’s pandemic bubble, the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
Moret vs. Yamauchi Confirmed For Friday’s Bellator 256 Card
Bellator 256, the promotion’s April 9th card, has received a short notice addition in a fight between Dan Moret and Goiti Yamauchi, as first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
Moret, a former UFC fighter, will be making his Bellator debut on the card. Moret fought for the promotion from 2018 to 2019, losing three consecutive bouts before departing the promotion.
Moret returned to the win column in late 2019, defeating Anton Kuivanen on a UAE Warriors card.
Yamauchi will look to earn his fourth consecutive win in Bellator. His last appearance dates back to December 2019, where he submitted Daron Cruickshank on a collaborative card between Bellator and RIZIN.
Bellator Looks To Book Pitbull vs. Queally For May 7th
A grudge match between Patricky Pitbull and Peter Queally could be settled on May 7th, as Bellator is targeting that fight for the card. News of the possible matchup was first reported by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
Bellator has been looking to do a fight between Pitbull and Queally for over a year now. The bout was first announced in early 2020, as Bellator booked it for October along with a series of marquee fights that they were aiming for at the time.
With the effects of COVID-19 dramatically changing Bellator’s schedule for the year, the fight never got to happen. Now, both fighters could get their first fight in over a year.
Pitbull last fought in late 2019, where he competed twice in one night as part of the RIZIN Lightweight Grand Prix. After needing only 28 seconds to stop Luiz Gustavo in the opening round of the bracket, Pitbull then lost in the finals later that night to Tofiq Musayev.
Queally’s last win was in September of 2019, where he stopped Ryan Scope in the second round with strikes.
Mota and Storley Attempt To Return To Winning Ways At Bellator 258
Bellator is currently looking to book a fight between Logan Storley and Killys Mota to their May 7th card, per a report from Damon Martin and Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
Both fighters will be returning after taking a loss in their previous bout.
Storley was on the losing end of a battle between two large win streaks last year. Facing Yaroslav Amosov, a fighter who was flawless through his 24 previous fights, Storley lost via unanimous decision in November. Before then, Storley earned 11 pro wins, including six in Bellator.
Mota’s return in November resulted in a finish loss, as Bellator vet Derek Anderson caught him in the second round with strikes. Mota’s previous appearance, his Bellator debut, saw him hand Mandel Nallo his first pro loss.
Bellator Confirms Two Bouts For May 21st Lineup
Bellator’s official website recently confirmed two new matchups for their May 21st card, Bellator 259.
Two Bellator veterans in Georgi Karakhanyan and Adam Piccolotti will be paired up for the show. Karakhanyan scored his eighth Bellator victory in November, fighting to a split decision win against Bryce Logan. His previous fight was a scorecard loss to Myles Jury. Piccolotti will attempt to earn a win after losing a fight to Sidney Outlaw last year.
Undefeated light heavyweight Christian Edwards will also return on the card, fighting Ben Parrish. Edwards has won all four of his pro MMA fights in Bellator in the past two years. His last victory was in October, where he submitted Hamza Salim with a rear naked choke. Parrish will be making his first Bellator appearance. He last competed in late 2019, where he took his first pro loss due to injury.
Bellator 259 had its main event announced on Friday, which will be a featherweight title fight between Cris Cyborg and Leslie Smith.
Updated Lineups:
Here are the updated lineups for the mentioned cards in this article.
Bellator 256: Bader vs. Machida 2 – 4/9/21
Bout 13: Ryan Bader (27-6) vs. Lyoto Machida (26-10) (Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals)
Bout 12: Jeremy Kennedy (16-2) vs. Adam Borics (16-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 11: Diana Avsaragova (2-0) vs. Tara Graff (1-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 10: Nainoa Dung (3-2) vs. Izzy William (4-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Cass Bell (5-1) vs. Jornel Lugo (5-0) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: Jaylon Bates (1-0) vs. Jeffrey Glossner (2-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Dalton Rosta (4-0) vs. Tony Johnson (9-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Talita Nogueira (7-2) vs. Jessica Borga (3-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Cat Zingano (11-4) vs. Olivia Parker (4-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Cody Law (2-0) vs. Nathan Ghareeb (2-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Liz Carmouche (14-7) vs. Vanessa Porto (22-8) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: John Douma (4-2) vs. Will Smith (3-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Goiti Yamauchi (25-4) vs. Dan Moret (14-6) (Lightweight)
Bellator 258: Archuleta vs. Pettis – 5/7/21
Bout 11: Juan Archuleta (25-2) vs. Sergio Pettis (20-5) (Bellator Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 10: Anthony Johnson (22-6) vs. Yoel Romero (13-5) (Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final)
Bout 9: Patchy Mix (13-1) vs. James Gallagher (11-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: Raufeon Stots (15-1) vs. Josh Hill (20-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Henry Corrales (18-5) vs. Keith Lee (7-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 6: Johnny Eblen (7-0) vs. Daniel Madrid (18-6) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Weber Almeida (4-0) vs. Johnny Soto (3-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 4: Alan Omer (24-5) vs. Bryce Logan (12-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Patricky Pitbull (23-9) vs. Peter Queally (12-5-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Logan Storley (11-1) vs. Killys Mota (12-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Julia Budd (14-3) vs. Dayana Silva (9-5) (Featherweight)
Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 – 5/21/21
Bout 4: Cris Cyborg (23-2) vs. Leslie Smith (12-8-1) (Bellator Featherweight Championship)
Bout 3: Brett Johns (17-2) vs. Matheus Mattos (12-2-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Adam Piccolotti (12-4) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (30-11-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 1: Christian Edwards (4-0) vs. Ben Parrish (4-1) (Light Heavyweight)
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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