The Bellator Middleweight World title will be on the line when the promotion returns to Ireland.
They already did the in cage face off. Number one contender Austin Vanderford (11-0) will challenge Gegard Mousasi (48-7-2) for the Bellator championship on February 25th at the 3Arena in Dublin. The news was first reported by MMAFighting.
Vanderford joined Bellator in 2019 going 3-0 stopping Cody Jones and Joseph Creer. In 2020 “The Gentleman” beat Vinicius de Jesus and competed three times in Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground. At Bellator 259 Vanderford secured the number one contender spot beating Fabian Edwards by unanimous decision.
Mousasi came to Bellator with Dream & Strikeforce world titles on his resume. Seven fights into his Bellator run “The Dreamcatcher” is heading into the second defense of his second reign. Rafael Lovato Jr. who dethroned Mousasi was forced to vacate the title due to a medical condition. At Bellator 250 Mousasi defeated Douglas Lima to win the vacant title. In August Mousasi defended the title by TKO from ground strikes defeating John Salter.
