Bellator returns to one of the hotbeds of European MMA as Dublin’s 3Arena plays host to the first European Series event of 2020.
Following an injury to main event star James Gallagher, Bellator’s European matchmaker Jude Samuel has shuffled the deck, with Northern Irish women’s MMA pioneer Leah McCourt set to take center stage in the biggest fight of her career.
The former IMMAF amateur world champion will headline the reshuffled fight card against Germany’s Judith Ruis in a women’s featherweight main event, while a card packed with Irish and British prospects will look to wow the passionate and knowledgable Irish crowd on what is sure to be another wild night in Dublin.
Without further ado, here are four burning questions heading into Bellator Europe 7/Bellator 240.
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Will ‘The Curse’ be a main-event blessing for the Irish fight fans?
McCourt’s promotion from main card notable to main event star represents a huge jump in exposure for the affable Northern Irish starlet, and the fighter playfully nicknamed “The Curse” is looking to complete a hat-trick of wins at the 3Arena on Feb. 22.
McCourt’s first two appearances inside the Bellator cage both produced stoppage wins, with both fights taking place inside Dublin’s famously atmospheric venue. Now she faces Ruis (6-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) looking to make it three in a row in Bellator, and three in a row in the 3Arena.
Ruis will have other plans, of course. The German now faces a monumental occasion on her Bellator debut as she will not only face one of the stars of women’s MMA on this side of the pond, but she’ll have to do it under the glare of the main event spotlight.
It’s a daunting prospect, but she’ll head into the bout with confidence having picked up a pair of first-round submission finishes in her last two bouts prior to being snapped up by Bellator.
It promises to be a night to remember for one of these unexpected main event fighters, but who will get their hand raised at the end of the night? Will McCourt (3-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) rise to the occasion on the biggest stage of her career, or will Ruis step in and spoil the party with a dream performance on her debut?
Will ‘The Bad Guy’ prove the spoiler once again?
The sight of Scottish lightweight Chris Bungard on a fight card is a guarantee of a knock-down, drag-out fight from bell to bell, and the professional wrestling-loving Scot will be more than happy to play the heel against former lightweight champion Brent Primus in the night’s co-main event.
Bungard (15-5 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) has a track record when it comes to spoiling the party and upsetting bigger-name opposition. He did so back at Bellator Europe 1 in February 2019 when he took on former two-division BAMMA champion Terry Brazier in Newcastle, England. Brazier was strongly fancied to get the victory and move into a position to face some of the promotion’s big American names, but Bungard had other ideas, and submitted his man inside the first round to claim a show-stealing win.
Now, following a first-round submission win in London in November 2019, “The Bad Guy” is stepping in to replace the injured local hero Peter Queally against Primus (9-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) in a bout that could catapult him into the rarified air of championship contendership. Primus is as solid as they come at 155 pounds and will be determined to produce a dominant performance to re-establish his championship credentials. But Scotland’s Bungard will likely get the lion’s share of the support from the Irish crowd, and will fancy his chances of scoring a big upset on the night.
Will Bungard get it done, or will Primus march on toward another shot at the lightweight title?
Is Aaron Chalmers a ‘Geordie Shore’ thing for a sixth career win?
Aaron Chalmers has built his MMA career on the simple premise of giving it his all and proving the doubters wrong, and the MTV star’s last outing added to that narrative as he picked up the third submission finish of his fledgling MMA record at Bellator Europe 3 in London in June 2019.
Now Chalmers makes the short hop across the Irish Sea to entertain the fans in Dublin, where his fan-friendly persona and devil-may-care approach should see him score plenty of support from the locals.
He’s taking on the debuting Austin Clem, whose three career wins have all come via submission, and will be confident to test his own grappling skills against Chalmers in a bid to hand the Brit the second submission defeat of his career.
Will Chalmers kick off the year with another win, or will Clem claim a debut victory and spoil the party in Dublin?
Which European welterweight will extend his winning streak?
In one of the most intriguing bouts on the card in Dublin, two of Bellator’s top European prospects go head to head as Sweden’s Oliver Enkamp takes on Welsh welterweight Lewis Long after both produced submission finishes on their Bellator debuts, against the same opponent, using the same technique, in the same city in their most recent appearances.
Enkamp (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) submitted Walter Gahadza with six seconds remaining in the opening round at London’s SSE Arena at Bellator 223 in June 2019. Then, five months later when Bellator returned to Wembley, Long (17-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) eclipsed the Swede’s performance by submitting Gahadza three minutes, 10 seconds faster.
It meant a meeting between the pair was a no-brainer matchup, and Bellator locked up the contest for Dublin on Feb. 22, with the former UFC prospect taking on the Cage Warriors veteran in a battle of European welterweights.
But which man is best equipped to move onwards and upwards in Bellator’s crowded 170-pound division?
