Bellator’s early 2022 schedule is taking shape.
The Bellator middleweight title is scheduled to be at stake in Dublin, Ireland.
MMA Junkie reports that reigning champion Gegard Mousasi is set to take on the undefeated Austin Vanderford at Bellator 274 on February 25th. This fight was known for quite some time but now we have a date and the venue is Dublin’s 3Arena.
Mousasi (48-7-2) won the middleweight title at Bellator 200 against Rafael Carvalho, defended that belt against Rory MacDonald, but suffered an upset loss to Rafael Lovato Jr in 2019. When Lovato was forced to retire for medical reasons, that opened the door for Mousasi to become champion again, which he accomplished by beating former welterweight champ Douglas Lima in October 2020. In his lone appearance of 2021, Mousasi stopped John Salter by third-round TKO.
Vanderford (11-0) is coming off a unanimous decision over Fabian Edwards, which brought his Bellator record up to 5-0. The 31-year-old notably competed on Dana White’s Contender Series, winning by rear-naked choke over Angelo Trevino back in 2018, but he didn’t sign with the UFC and instead found himself in Bellator. Of course, Vanderford is also known as the husband of former UFC fighter Paige VanZant.
No other fights have been linked to Bellator 274 as of yet.