PATRICIO PITBULL TAKES BACK HIS CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN AND NO.1 BELLATOR POUND-FOR-POUNDER RANKING AFTER UNANIMOUS DECISION VICTORY OVER AJ MCKEE
BELLATOR MMA RETURNS TO HONOLULU FOR STACKED PAIR OF EVENTS MCKEE ON FRIDAY, APRIL 22 AND SATURDAY, APRIL 23
LOS ANGELES – In a running marathon of high-stakes BELLATOR MMA shows, fans will be in for a treat with two back-to-back events taking place at Honolulu’s Neal S. Blaisdell Arena this Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23.
Friday night’s BELLATOR 278 main event will feature a BELLATOR Women’s Flyweight World Championship matchup between undefeated Juliana Velasquez (12-0) and women’s MMA pioneer and No. 2-ranked flyweight Liz Carmouche (16-7). The night will also host two special Bantamweight World Grand Prix Wild Card bouts between Enrique Barzola (17-5-2) who will be facing Nikita Mikhailov (9-1) and No.9-ranked Jornel Lugo (8-0) challenging Danny Sabatello (11-1). The winner of Barzola vs. Mikhailov will move on to face Magomed Magomedov (18-2) and the winner of Lugo vs. Sabatello will fight Leandro Higo (21-5).
*Catch our interview with Bellator fighter, Jornel Lugo. More interviews available in the rankings below*
Friday’s card is a special event for all current military, veterans, and first responders. Admission can be redeemed at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena box office beginning at 2 p.m. HST and is free for any individual, plus a guest with valid proof of military or work identification.
SHOWTIME will televise the BELLATOR 278: Velasquez vs. Carmouche main card at 4 p.m. HST local time, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the preliminary fights will stream live on the BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel,
SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV beginning at 3 p.m. HST local time, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
BELLATOR 279 on Saturday night features a main event rematch between the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time, Cris Cyborg (25-2, 1 NC) and No. 1-ranked featherweight Arlene Blencowe (15-8), who will look to claim gold in her third attempt at a world title. In the co-main event for the BELLATOR Interim Bantamweight World Championship, No.1-ranked Juan Archuleta (25-3) will battle No.3-ranked Raufeon Stots (17-1). Additionally, the Bantamweight World Grand Prix will kick off with a tilt between No.2-ranked Patchy Mix (15-1) and No.5-ranked Kyoji Horiguchi (29-4). Rounding out the televised card, Hawaiian hometown favorite and No.1-ranked female flyweight Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1) will fight Justine Kish (7-5).
Saturday’s BELLATOR 279: Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2 / Archuleta vs. Stots will air live on SHOWTIME at 4:30 p.m.HST local time, 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT. The preliminary fights will stream live on the BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel, SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV beginning at 2:30 p.m. HST local time, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.
Tickets for both BELLATOR 278 and BELLATOR 279 are on sale and can be purchased through Bellator.com, as well as Ticketmaster.com or the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena Box Office.
Click here for additional information detailing fighter eligibility, as well as additional voting criteria.
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OFFICIAL BELLATOR MMA™ FIGHTER RANKINGS AS OF APRIL 19, 2022
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Patricio Pitbull (33-5) ∆2 2. AJ McKee (18-1) ∇1 3. Vadim Nemkov (15-2, 1 NC) ∇1 4. Gegard Mousasi (49-7-2) 5. Yaroslav Amosov (26-0) 6. Ryan Bader (29-7) 7. Sergio Pettis (22-5) 8. Corey Anderson (16-5, 1 NC) 9. Michael Page (20-1) 10. Valentin Moldavsky (11-2)
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT
MEN’S LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
MEN’S MIDDLEWEIGHT
MEN’S WELTERWEIGHT
MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT
MEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
WOMEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT
WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
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