Bellator MMA returns to Belfast on Friday for the promotion’s first occasion since being acquired by Skilled Fighters League. Bellator 302 is the primary Bellator occasion held in Belfast since Bellator 173 in February 2017. Not like that occasion, which featured no title bouts, the Bellator 302 card is topped by a pair of championship showdowns.
In the primary occasion, Corey Anderson and Karl Moore will battle for the vacant gentle heavyweight championship. The belt turned obtainable after Vadim Nemkov selected to vacate the belt in a transfer as much as heavyweight. Nemkov received the title in August 2020 and efficiently defended it 4 instances earlier than formally making the bounce to heavyweight at February’s PFL vs. Bellator occasion, the place he defeated PFL’s Bruno Cappelozza.
Anderson is among the males who did not wrestle the title from the grasp of Nemkov. Within the pair’s first assembly, Anderson was seemingly successful the battle when an unintended conflict of heads within the third spherical opened a lower over Nemkov’s eye, ending the battle in a no contest 5 seconds earlier than the top of the spherical. Had the battle ended after the completion of the third spherical, Anderson possible would have received a technical determination.
Anderson would get his rematch with Nemkov, however discovered little of the success he had the primary time round, with Nemkov taking a transparent unanimous determination.
The fights with Nemkov are the one instances Anderson has entered the Bellator cage and left with out having his hand raised, compiling a 4-1 report with three stoppage victories. In his most up-to-date outing, Anderson took a break up determination win over Phil Davis.
Moore could have the house cage benefit as he competes in entrance of his hometown Belfast followers. Moore has fought 4 instances in Bellator, successful all 4 fights, with three wins coming by determination.
Moore final fought at Bellator 297, incomes a call win over Alex Polizzi.
Within the co-main occasion, the best fighter in Bellator historical past returns to the cage as Patricio Pitbull places his featherweight championship on the road in opposition to Jeremy Kennedy.
Pitbull shall be trying to pull out of a spiral that has seen him lose back-to-back fights for the primary time in his completed skilled profession.
At Bellator 297, Pitbull, a former light-weight champion who’s on his third stint as featherweight king, tried to drop all the way down to bantamweight to win a title within the third weight class of his profession. As an alternative, Pitbull was outworked and dominated by Sergio Pettis, who took a lopsided determination.
This previous July, Pitbull made the fateful determination to take a battle with Chihiro Suzuki on extraordinarily brief discover in Japan’s Rizin promotion. Pitbull misplaced the battle by first-round knockout.
Pitbull was set to return to motion at PFL vs. Bellator solely to see each scheduled opponents fall out of the occasion with accidents.
Kennedy has loads of big-fight expertise, with a 3-1 report within the UFC and a stint in PFL. Since becoming a member of Bellator, Kennedy has gone 4-1, with a loss to Adam Borics because the lone blemish on his Bellator report.
Since dropping a call to Borics, Kennedy has received three consecutive fights, with wins over Emmanuel Sanchez, Aaron Pico and Pedro Carvalho establishing his shot on the title.
Bellator 302 battle card, odds
- Corey Anderson -500 vs. Karl Moore +360, vacant gentle heavyweight championship
- Patricio Pitbull (c) -105 vs. Jeremy Kennedy -115, featherweight championship
- Fabian Edwards -150 vs. Aaron Jeffery +125, middleweights
- Leandro Higo -135 vs. James Gallagher +110, featherweights
- Tim Wilde -135 vs. Manouel Sousa +110, lightweights
Predictions
Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore:Â When breaking down the extent of competitors, it is easy to see that Anderson has confronted harder competitors than Moore, and has responded to that robust competitors with many stoppage victories. Moore could have a rabid native fanbase cheering him on, to make sure, nevertheless it should not be anticipated that the adrenaline bump will carry him to victory over a fighter who we have now each motive to imagine is just higher and extra harmful. Decide: Corey Anderson by way of TKO3
Patricio Pitbull vs. Jeremy Kennedy: Had been this the Pitbull of just some years again, one would have each motive to imagine that he ought to retain his title and preserve proper on being the most effective fighter in Bellator historical past. However it is a Pitbull who has appeared noticeably slower, a bit much less able to pulling the set off when wanted, coming off of two losses and who’s coming off a cervical backbone surgical procedure that he mentioned he’ll “by no means be the identical” after. Kennedy would not carry the traits of a “particular fighter” however he’s ok to beat a diminished model of Pitbull. The champion retaining his title would not be a shock, however Kennedy possible has sufficient to take a hard-fought determination. Decide: Jeremy Kennedy by way of UD