Bellator MMA is planning an extravaganza for its 300th event.
The California-based promotion announced on Wednesday that Bellator 300 will feature four championship bouts at the top of the bill: Ryan Bader vs. Linton Vassell at heavyweight; Cristiane Justino vs. Cat Zingano at featherweight; Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus at lightweight and Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane at flyweight. Nurmagomedov vs. Primus is part of the Bellator lightweight grand prix.
Bellator 300 takes place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Oct. 7. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The undercard, which will be announced soon, streams on the Bellator MMA YouTube channel and Pluto TV. Bader vs. Vassell is slated to be the evening’s headliner.
“When I first joined Bellator, we set out to sign and develop the best available talent in the world and produce events for massive audiences. Our first tentpole event was Bellator 131 in San Diego, and we couldn’t be more excited to return to that very same arena for this monumental Bellator 300 event,” Bellator president Scott Coker said in a release. “We wanted to give the fans and supporters an epic night of fights and there is no better way to do that than showcasing these four incredible champions all putting their belts on the line. I’m proud of the all the work we have done to grow this brand and its athletes since I came on board. I can’t wait for Bellator 300, which is going to be the biggest event in the history of Bellator MMA.”
Bader initially defeated Vassell via second-round TKO in a 205-pound title bout at Bellator 186 in November 2017. The UFC veteran is coming off a trio of successful heavyweight title defenses over Valentin Moldavsky, Cheick Kongo and Fedor Emelianenko.
Vassell has won five consecutive outings since moving to heavyweight. Most recently, “Big Swarm” avenged a previous loss to Valentin Moldavsky via first-round KO at Bellator 292.
Justino hasn’t competed under the Bellator banner since April 2022, when she defended the featherweight crown with a five-round verdict over Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279. After competing in a couple of boxing matches, “Cyborg” re-signed with the promotion earlier this year.
A former UFC bantamweight title challenger, Zingano has won four straight contests since signing with Bellator. The 41-year-old Colorado native is coming off a decision win over Leah McCourt at Bellator 293 this past March.
The 25-year-old Usman is undefeated in 17 professional appearances. He claimed lightweight gold with a five-round verdict against Patricky Freire at Bellator 288 and then kicked off his run in the grand prix with a first-round submission of Benson Henderson at Bellator 292.
Primus, a former lightweight champ, advanced in the bracket with a unanimous decision against Mansour Barnaoui at Bellator 296 on May 12. The American Top Team Portland product has won four of his last six bouts dating back to 2019.
Carmouche, who was a No. 1 contender at both bantamweight and flyweight in the UFC, has won six straight in Bellator MMA. She made her second successful 125-pound title defense at Bellator 294, where she submitted DeAnna Bennett in the fourth round on April 21.
Macfarlane, meanwhile, was Bellator’s inaugural flyweight queen. The 33-year-old Hawaiian is coming off back-to-back wins over Bruna Ellen and Kana Watanabe.
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