Earlier today (Tues., Aug, 9, 2023), Bellator MMA announced plans to stage its biggest event ever on Saturday Oct. 7 inside Pechanga Arena San Diego, Calif., featuring a whopping four title fights, airing exclusively on Showtime.
Headlining Bellator 300 will be a Heavyweight title fight as Ryan Bader defends the 265-pound belt against Linton Vassell. “Darth” already has a win over “The Swarm,” defeating him at Bellator 186 in Nov. 2017 to retain his Light Heavyweight title. Two losses later, Vassell went on an impressive five-fight win streak at Heavyweight to get him back to the big dance and at a chance at revenge.
Bader, meanwhile has defended his 265-pound strap three straight times and was last seen sending Fedor Emelianenko into retirement with a first round knockout loss at Bellator 290 this past February (see it again here).
Also on the card, Cris Cyborg returns to action after more than a year on the sidelines to defend her title against the No. 1 ranked Featherweight in the division, Cat Zingano, who earned her shot after winning he first four fights with the promotion. Zingano hasn’t competed since stopping Arlene Blencowe a second time at Bellator 279 in April 2022.
The Lightweight Grand Prix will continue to roll right along as Usman Nurmagomedov defends his belt against Brent Primus in a semifinal matchup. The winner will stamp his ticket to the $1 million finale. Nurmagomedov won his first round matchup by defeating at Benson Henderson at Bellator 292 (highlights), while Primus pulled off the upset by defeating Mansour Barnoui in his opening round fight this past May.
In the final title fight, Liz Carmouche will put her women’s Flyweight belt on the line against friend and former training partner, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, who lost the division strap to Juliana Velasquez in 2020, her first-ever defeat. Carmouche is currently on a six-fight win streak and has successfully defended her title on two separate occasions.
Bellator 300 main card:
265 lbs.: Champion Ryan Bader vs. Linton Vassell
155 lbs.: Champion Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus – Grand Prix fight
145 lbs.: Champion Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano
125 lbs.: Champion Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane
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