Bellator 257 is set to go down tonight (Fri., April 16, 2021) inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., featuring not one, but two opening round match ups for the promotion’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, which could crown a new champion and award the last man standing a whopping $1 million payday.
Last week, former 205-pound champion, Ryan Bader, defeated Lyoto Machida in a five-round affair at Bellator 256 to advance to the next round (see it again here). He will face the winner of this weekend’s bout between Corey Anderson and Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov in the semifinals.
Headlining Bellator 257 will be another opening round tilt, which is a highly-anticipated rematch between division champion, Vadim Nemkov, and Phil Davis. Nemkov initially defeated “Mr. Wonderful” at Bellator 209 in Nov. 2018 via split decision.
Check out the latest updated bracket below:
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Of course, perhaps the most-anticipated opening round match up is one between Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero, two former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title contenders who will make their debuts against each other in the co-main event of Bellator 258 on May 7, 2021. The winner of that fight will move on to face either Nemkov or Davis in the semifinals for a chance to win a trip to the finals.
Care to offer up a prediction (or three) as to who you think will be the last two men competing for it all this October?
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