The upcoming Bellator 292 fight card, which is set to go down on March 10, 2023 inside SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., has been bolstered with star power thanks to the addition of several fights.
Former interim Heavyweight champion, Valentin Moldavsky, is set to face off against Linton Vassell in a title eliminator match. This will be a rematch three years in the making as Moldavsky initially defeated Vassell via unanimous decision in 2019, which was his third straight loss up to that point. Since then Vasell has won four in a row and is now looking to lock down his first-ever shot at the 265-pound title.
Moldvsky, meanwhile, is trying to get back in the win column for the first time since June 2021 because his last two outings have not gone his way. In his most recent fight against Steve Mowry, the fight was ruled a no-contest (NC) as a result of an inadvertent eye poke. Prior to that he came up short against Ryan Bader at Bellator 273.
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Also, James Gallagher will make his return after a 16-month layoff to face off against Leandro Higo. “Strabanimal” was last seen losing to Patchy Mix in Nov. 2021 and will look to get back in the win column for the first time since Oct. 2020. Higo, meanwhile, was eliminated in the Bantamweight World Grand Prix by Danny Sabatello.
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Also, Keri Melendez will make her return to action as she puts her undefeated (5-0) record on the line to face off against Bruna Ellen in a women’s Flyweight fight. Ellen is hoping to get back on track after suffering a unanimous decision loss to former division champion, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, in Aug. 2022.
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Of course, Bellator 292 will be headlined by a pair of opening fights to the Lightweight Grand Prix as Tofiq Musyev will battle Alexander Shabliy in the co-main event. Headlining the event in another quarterfinal bout is division champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, putting his belt on the line against Benson Henderson.
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