Bellator 300 is set to go down this Saturday (Oct. 7, 2023) inside Pechanga Arena San Diego, California, in what promises to be one of the the most stacked cards the promotion has put on. The event, which will be streamed exclusively on Showtime, will feature a main card made up of three world title fights.
Headlining the event will be a Lightweight Grand Prix title fight as division champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, puts his strap on the line against Brent Primus. In the co-main event, Cris Cyborg will defend her women’s Featherweight title against Cat Zingano, while Liz Carmouche defends her belt against Ilima-Lei Macfarlane. A Heavyweight title fight between Ryan Bader and Linton Vassell was set to take place on the card before Vassell was forced out due to an undisclosed illness.
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155 lbs.: Champion Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus – Grand Prix fight
Usman Nurmagomedov has been an unstoppable force thus far in his MMA career, winning all 17 of his fights, which includes going 6-0 under the Bellator banner. He won the 155-pound strap thanks to a dominant win over Patricky Pitbull, and then proceeded to force Benson Henderson into retirement thanks to a one-sided title defense in the opening round the Lightweight Grand Prix. Now, he is one win away from reaching the final and a chance to claim the $1 million prize at the end of the rainbow. Standing in his way, however, is former division king, Brent Primus. Granted, Primus hasn’t held the 155-pound strap since 2018, but the ex-champion has made the most of his opportunity in the tournament, defeating Mansour Barnaoui at Bellator 296 to punch his way into the second round. Now, he has the opportunity to shock the word with an upset victory over Nurmagomedov, a tall task to say the least. But Nurmagomedov is simply firing on all cylinders at the moment and it will have to take a perfect performance from Primus to get the job done. Nurmagomedov will go to the well and do what he does best, which is wrestle his way to a dominate win.
Final prediction: Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision
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145 lbs.: Champion Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano
After years of back-and-forth fighting through the media, Cris Cyborg and Cat Zingano will finally get the chance to settle things inside the cage. Other than her knockout loss to Amanda Nunes inside the UFC cage that cost her the title (see it here), Cyborg has looked like her usual unstoppable self, winning six straight fights since that setback, which includes a whopping four title defenses of her Bellator strap. As for Zingano, she has slowly worked her way up to to an invitation to the big dance by winning all four of her fights with the promotion since jumping ship from UFC. She’s lobbied for her shot, and after Cyborg re-upped with Bellator, matchmakers were quick to capitalize on the chance to book it. Zingano may have a wrestling advantage, but Cyborg has the power to stuff the shots and if her foe gets to close she should expect to east some big shots. Zingano came up short in her first-ever world title fight against Rounda Rousey, losing in 14 seconds, and if she gets overzealous against a power-puncher like Cyborg it could be another quick title fight. That said, Zingano’s best bet is to bide her time and pick her shots carefully. If she can somehow whether Cyborg’s early onslaught, he cardio is good enough to give her an advantage in the later rounds. All that said, I just don’t see Cyborg letting this fight go the distance. She has the power to back her opponents down when she wants. but that also leaves her open for counters if she gets a bit too eager. If Cyborg makes it into a barn-burner, she will gladly take some of her opponents best shots to deliver her own, which usually ends up in her favor.
Final prediction: Cyborg via second-round knockout
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125 lbs.: Champion Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane
Like Cat Zingano an Cris Cyborg, Liz Carmouche has found great success since making the jump over from UFC, winning six straight fights to remain undefeated with the promotion. Along the way, she captured the women’s Flyweight title and defended it twice. Now she is eying her third consecutive defense against a familiar face. That’s because Carmouche and Macfarlane used to train together extensively, sparking up friendship that exists to this day. But they are both adamant that despite how great they get along, their friendship will not be a factor come fight night. Interestingly enough, Macfarlane is Bellator’s first-ever women’s Flyweight champion, winning the inaugural strap back in Nov. 2017 an then defending it a record four straight times before coughing it up to Julianna Velasquez, the person Carmouche took the belt from. After back-to-back defeats, Macfarlane manages two win two in a row to earn her way back to the top of the list for a chance to reclaim her belt. But the past sometimes stays in the past and another title reign for Macfarlane isn’t looking too promising. Carmouche is just a a bit better in all areas of the fight game. She is the present champion and will the champion for the foreseeable future, or at least as long as Bellator is around.
Final prediction: Carmouche via unanimous decision
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