Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 2, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was Bellator's first of the year following a four-month break after Bellator 254.[1]
| Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Bellator MMA | |||
| Date | April 2, 2021 | |||
| Venue | Mohegan Sun Arena | |||
| City | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThis was the first Bellator event to air on Showtime, and the first MMA event to air on the network since the Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine event on January 12, 2013.[2] The event streamed for free in the United States on Pluto TV and YouTube, in addition to Hulu, FuboTV, and participating cable television providers.[3]
The event was headlined by the semi-final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix Tournament in a rematch between the current champion Patricio Freire and Emmanuel Sanchez. Freire won the last bout at Bellator 209 via unanimous decision.[4]
A bantamweight bout between Jared Scoggins and Magomed Magomedov was scheduled to take place at this event. However, on March 18, Scoggins pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Cee Jay Hamilton.[5]
Matt Mitrione was expected to face Tyrell Fortune at this event.[6] However, during the week of the bout, Mitrione had to pull out and was replaced by Jack May.[7]
Mads Burnell and The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber standout Saul Rogers was scheduled to fight at this event. However, the bout was cancelled due to visa issues.[8] It eventually took place on April 16, 2021 at Bellator 257.[9]
At weigh-ins, Aguiar missed weight by 1.7 pounds and Faraldo missed weight by .1 pounds. Both were fined a percentage of their purses. Mukhamed Berkhamov missed weight by 2.8 pounds, leading to the bout between him and Herman Terrado being pulled from the lineup due to Berkhamov’s miss.[10]
Results
edit| Main Card (Showtime) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Patricio Freire (c) | def. | Emmanuel Sanchez | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 3:35 | [a] |
| Welterweight | Jason Jackson | def. | Neiman Gracie | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Tyrell Fortune | def. | Jack May | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:16 | |
| Lightweight | Usman Nurmagomedov | def. | Mike Hamel | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Kana Watanabe | def. | Alejandra Lara | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (Youtube/Pluto TV) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Magomed Magomedov | def. | Cee Jay Hamilton | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 1:22 | |
| Lightweight | Mandel Nallo | def. | Ricardo Seixas | KO (superman punch) | 1 | 3:23 | |
| Catchweight (187.7 lb) | Khalid Murtazaliev | def. | Fabio Aguiar | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Catchweight (160 lb) | Chris Gonzalez | def. | Roger Huerta | TKO (submission to punches) | 3 | 3:01 | |
| Light Heavyweight | José Augusto Azevedo | def. | Jonathan Wilson | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 1 | 4:58 | |
| Catchweight (171.1 lb) | Roman Faraldo | def. | Trevor Gudde | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:30 | [c] |
| Middleweight | Jordan Newman | def. | Branko Busick | TKO (elbows) | 2 | 2:30 | |
- ^ Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix Semi-Final bout for the Bellator Featherweight World Championship
- ^ Aguiar missed weight and was fined 20% of his purse.
- ^ Faraldo missed weight and was fined 20% of his purse.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Steven Marrocco (February 3, 2021). "Bellator targets April 9 for 2021 return in familiar venue". mmafighting.com.
- ^ Brent Brookhouse (2021-02-09). "Bellator set for Showtime debut in April as star-studded Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix headlines slate". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ Showtime Sports to Offer Bellator MMA Debut Event for Free to Non-Subscribers Across Multiple Streaming Platforms and Television Providers Live on Friday, April 2
- ^ Danny Segura (2021-02-09). "Patricio 'Pitbull' vs. Emmanuel Sanchez grand prix semifinal headlines Bellator 255". mmajunkie. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ King, Nolan (18 March 2021). "Magomed Magomedov needs new Bellator 255 opponent after Jared Scoggins withdraws". MMA Junkie.
- ^ Bohn, Mike (27 February 2021). "Tyrell Fortune vs. Matt Mitrione booked for Bellator 255". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ King, Nolan (28 March 2021). "Matt Mitrione out of Bellator 255 fight vs. Tyrell Fortune". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ @mma_kings (March 26, 2021). "Sounds like Mads Burnell vs. Saul Rogers is off #Bellator255 on April 2. Visa issues" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 March 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Lee, Alexander K. (7 April 2021). "Saul Rogers vs. Mads Burnell rescheduled for Bellator 257". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Bellator 255 weigh-in results: Main card on point, but three prelim fighters miss marks – leading to a scratch". MMA Junkie. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ "Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2". Retrieved 11 March 2021.