Bellator’s three upcoming cards in the months of May and June have received numerous changes as of late. The shows have mostly gotten new bouts to their lineups, although some previously reported bouts have also changed or been cancelled.
All of Bellator’s upcoming cards are set to happen at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
May 7th Card Sees Many Changes
Bellator’s May 7th card, Bellator 258, has undergone many moves recently.
Looking to build upon his four-fight win streak, Lorenz Larkin will fight Costello van Steenis on the card. The new matchup was announced by Bellator in a recent press release.
Larkin’s next fight will see him fight after a year outside of the cage. His last fight was in December of 2019, where he scored a decision win against former UFC fighter Keita Nakamura.
Van Steenis returned to the win column in September, winning over previously undefeated Fabian Edwards in the main event of a show.
Logan Storley won’t be facing Killys Mota on May 7th, and will instead fight Omar Hussein, as confirmed by Bellator’s website. Hussein’s Bellator debut is being made just after he picked up a decision win over Yassin Najid on a UAE Warriors card last month.
Mota’s departure from the card was first reported by Damon Martin and Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting earlier in the month.
Erik Perez will also get a new opponent, as Blaine Shutt will replace Brian Moore, as confirmed through a press release. It is not currently known why Moore left the lineup.
Shutt last fought over a year ago, where he defeated Johnny Lopez via split decision on a CES card.
A fight between Valerie Loureda and Hannah Guy won’t take place on May 7th. Instead, the bout will be held at Bellator 259 on May 21st, per a report from James Lynch.
Bellator 259 Gains Two New Bookings, Loses Another
Bellator’s May 21st lineup has grown, as the singular cancelled fight is outnumbered by two new bookings and the recently moved fight between Loureda and Guy.
Georgi Karakhanyan will need a new opponent for the date, as original foe Adam Piccolotti has withdrawn from their fight. While there is no replacement opponent in place currently, Kharakhanyan remains confident that he could fight in the month, as Bellator told him “to be ready,” per an interview he did with Joe McDonagh of MyMMANews.
Heavyweight prospect Davion Franklin will look for his third MMA win when fighting Tyler King. The pairing was first confirmed on Monday by Joe McDonagh of Cageside Press.
Franklin competed for the second time in his rookie year as a pro in September, defeating Ras Hylton via technical decision. His previous appearance lasted less than two minutes, where he stopped JW Kiser with ground and pound in early 2020.
King will look to break a five-fight losing streak in the appearance. The heavyweight veteran has been finished within a round in his appearances since 2017, including matches in RIZIN and CES.
Attempting to score his fifth consecutive win, Alfie Davis will face Bellator newcomer Alexander Shabliy. The lightweight bout was recently added to Bellator’s official website.
Davis has won his last four appearances in the Bellator cage from 2019 to 2020. He last fought in the fall, where he prevailed over Akonne Wanliss on a Bellator card in Italy.
While Shabliy enters the promotion after a year outside of action, he carries the momentum of a win streak that he developed in 2017 to 2019.
Bellator Adds Two Bouts To June 11th Lineup
A recent report from John Morgan and Nolan King of MMA Junkie has confirmed two new matchups for Bellator’s June 11th card.
Undefeated featherweight Lucas Brennan will return for his fifth Bellator fight when battling Matthew Skibicki. Brennan went the distance for the first time in his short pro career in November, defeating Andrew Salas.
Matthew Skibicki enters Bellator with a three-fight losing streak on the regional scene. His last appearance resulted in a referee stoppage last month against Justin Vazquez.
Bellator vet Amanda Bell will face the returning Marina Mokhnatkina in June.
Bell lost to former UFC fighter Leslie Smith in September, who fought to scorecards against her.
Mokhnatkina has been out of the cage for over two years now. Her Bellator debut was her last appearance, which was a loss to Janay Harding in March of 2019.
Updated Lineups
Here are how the lineups look with the new bouts in place.
Bellator 258: Archuleta vs. Pettis – 5/7/21
Bout 12: Juan Archuleta (25-2) vs. Sergio Pettis (20-5) (Bellator Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 11: Anthony Johnson (22-6) vs. Yoel Romero (13-5) (Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final)
Bout 10: Raufeon Stots (15-1) vs. Josh Hill (20-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 9: Johnny Eblen (7-0) vs. Daniel Madrid (18-6) (Middleweight)
Bout 8: Weber Almeida (4-0) vs. Johnny Soto (3-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 7: Alan Omer (24-5) vs. Bryce Logan (12-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Patricky Pitbull (23-9) vs. Peter Queally (12-5-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Michael Page (18-1) vs. Derek Anderson (17-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 4: Henry Corrales (18-5) vs. Johnny Campbell (20-13) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Logan Storley (11-1) vs. Omar Hussein (8-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Lorenz Larkin (22-7) vs. Costello van Steenis (13-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Erik Perez (19-8) vs. Blaine Shutt (8-4) (Bantamweight)
Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 – 5/21/21
Bout 12: Cris Cyborg (23-2) vs. Leslie Smith (12-8-1) (Bellator Featherweight Championship)
Bout 11: Brett Johns (17-2) vs. Matheus Mattos (12-2-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 10: Adam Piccolotti (12-4) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (30-11-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Christian Edwards (4-0) vs. Ben Parrish (4-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 8: Saad Awad (23-13) vs. Nate Andrews (16-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Fabian Edwards (9-1) vs. Austin Vanderford (10-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Grant Neal (5-0) vs. Tyree Fortune (5-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 5: Aviv Gozali (5-0) vs. Sean Felton (5-2-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Janay Harding (6-4) vs. Leah McCourt (4-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Valerie Loureda (3-0) vs. Hannah Guy (2-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Davion Franklin (2-0) vs. Tyler King (12-9) (Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Alexander Shabliy (19-3) vs. Alfie Davis (14-3) (Lightweight)
Bellator 260: Lima vs. Amosov – 6/11/21
Bout 5: Douglas Lima (32-8) vs. Yaroslav Amosov (25-0) (Bellator Welterweight Championship)
Bout 4: Tywan Claxton (6-2) vs. Justin Gonzales (11-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Nick Newell (16-3) vs. Bobby King (9-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Lucas Brennan (4-0) vs. Matthew Skibicki (4-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Amanda Bell (7-7) vs. Marina Mokhnatkina (4-2) (Featherweight)
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