Bellator have announced nine fights ahead their upcoming show in the Northern Irish capital on Friday March 22nd, at Bellator 302.
The promotion will head to Belfast in the first of the recently announced Bellator Champions Series, which will see at least one championship belt on the line at every event.
As had already been announced, in the main event of the inaugural show, Northern Ireland's own Karl Moore will face his biggest challenge to date when he faces Corey Anderson for the vacant Bellator Light Heavyweight strap.
Fellow Northern Irish native Leah McCourt will also feature, in a highly intriguing rematch against Sinead Kavanagh, after the two initially met at Bellator 275. The two women currently sit at the upper echelons of the Featherweight division and the victor on the night will no doubt be eyeing up a title fight against the current champion Cris Cyborg
The monumental card will play host to two number one contender bouts as former title challenger Fabian Edwards will face Aaron Jeffery in what could well be a classic striker vs grappling contest to decide who will be waiting for Johnny Eblen, after his Champ vs Champ bout against Impa Kasanganay.
Although the upcoming bout will mark his four fight in as many years, James 'The Strabanimal' Gallagher is still one of the most familiar faces under the Bellator banner. The Strabane man's ability to talk the talk and walk the walk established him as a huge star early in his career. In his second consecutive outing as a Featherweight, Gallagher will meet the tough Jeremy Kennedy - who is fresh off the back of a victory over Gallagher's SBG team mate Perdo Carvalho.
Rounding out the main card, British MMA veteran Tim Wilde will look to continue his impressive form against the unbeaten Brazilian Manoel Sousa in a Featherweight clash. After losing to Brent Primus in his promotional debut, Wilde's run since has been nothing short of outstanding- now standing unbeaten in six, with five wins. Sousa enters the bout on the back of a split decision against Paulo Henrique on PFL's Challenger Series but in his nine fights previous, the Brazilian had amassed nine victories within the first two rounds.
It was unclear, following PFL's acquisition of Bellator, if fans would see any athletes cross between the two promotions and if the Belfast card is anything to go by, it appears to be the case. Alongside the aforementioned Sousa, several athletes who've previously featured on recent PFL cards, such as Nathan Kelly and Abraham Bably are all set to compete.
Updated Bellator Champions Series Belfast Main Card
Light Heavyweight World Title Bout: Corey Anderson (17-6, 1 NC) vs. Karl Moore (12-2)
Women’s Featherweight Co-Main Event: Leah McCourt (8-3) vs. Sinead Kavanagh (9-6)
Middleweight No. 1 Contender Bout: Fabian Edwards (12-3) vs. Aaron Jeffery (14-4)
Featherweight No. 1 Contender Bout: Jeremy Kennedy (19-3) vs James Gallagher (12-2)
Lightweight Main Card Bout: Tim Wilde (17-4-1) vs. Manoel Sousa (10-0)
Preliminary Card:
Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Ciaran Clarke (8-0) vs. Darius Mafi (4-1)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Tofiq Musayev (21-5) Alfie Davis (16-4-1)
Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Nathan Kelly (9-2) vs.Vikas Singh Ruhil (12-7)
Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Abraham Bably (3-0) vs. Isaiah Pinson (3-0)
