Bellator MMA will make its highly-anticipated debut on Showtime Friday, April 2, with the prelims kicking off at 6 p.m. ET and the main card starting at 9 p.m. ET.
The entire card will be streamed live here at Uproxx for free from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The main event features Bellator double-champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire facing off in a rematch with Emmanuel Sanchez for the 145-pound belt and a spot in the finals of the Featherweight World Grand Prix Tournament against the unbeaten A.J. McKee. Freire was named Bellator’s top pound-for-pound fighter in the organization’s inaugural rankings earlier this week and he’s rattled off six-consecutive wins. He faces off against Sanchez, who presented the champ’s toughest test over the last three years, pushing him to a decision.
The main card also features unbeaten Usman Nurmagomedov, the cousin of UFC’s retired lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who makes his Bellator debut against Mike Hamel.
Bellator 255 Main Card:
- Featherweight title: Patricio Freire vs. Emmanuel Sanchez in the semifinals of the Featherweight World Grand Prix Tournament
- Neiman Gracie vs. Jason Jackson
- Tyrell Fortune vs. Jack May
- Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Mike Hamel
Bellator 255 Preliminary Card
- Kana Watanabe vs. Alejandra Lara
- Jose Augusto vs. Jonathan Wilson
- Fabio Aguiar vs. Khalid Murtazaliev
- Jordan Newman vs. Branko Busick
- Roman Faraldo vs. Trevor Gudde
- Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Magomed Magomedov
- Mandel Nallo vs. Ricardo Seixas
- Roger Huerta vs. Chris Gonzalez
Bellator 255 kicks off three consecutive weeks of fights, with Bellator 256 scheduled for April 9 and Bellator 257 on April 16.
