For the second time in the promotion’s history, Bellator returns to the “World’s Most Famous Arena,” Madison Square Garden, with Bellator 222, which features a welterweight title fight at the top of the card.
In the main event, 170-pound champion Rory MacDonald (20-5-1 MMA, 2-1-1 BMMA) makes a seven-week turnaround to defend his title against undefeated Neiman Gracie (9-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) in the semifinals of the Bellator welterweight grand prix. The winner will move on to the tournament final against Douglas Lima and fight for $1 million.
And in the co-main event, a pair of legends will go at it as former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (25-8 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) takes on Chael Sonnen (30-16-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA).
Take a look at the Bellator 222 event info and lineup with start times.
What: Bellator 222
When: Friday
Where: Madison Square Garden in New York
Live stream: DAZN (sign up now), MMA Junkie
Full fight card, start times
MAIN CARD (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)
- Rory MacDonald vs. Neiman Gracie – for welterweight title, welterweight grand prix semifinal
- Lyoto Machida vs. Chael Sonnen
- Dillon Danis vs. Max Humphrey
- Ricky Bandejas vs. Patrick Mix
- Juan Archuleta vs. Eduardo Dantas
- Darrion Caldwell vs. Kyoji Horiguchi – for bantamweight title
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6:30 p.m. ET)
- Adam Borics vs. Aaron Pico
- Heather Hardy vs. Taylor Turner
- Larkyn Dasch vs. Valerie Loureda
- Robson Gracie Jr. vs. Oscar Vera
- Mike Kimbel vs. Sebastian Ruiz
- Haim Gozali vs. Gustavo Wurlitzer
- Rena Kubota vs. Lindsey VanZandt
- Phil Hawes vs. Michael Wilcox
- Nekruz Mirkhojaev vs. Marcus Surin
- Brandon Medina vs. Brandon Polcare
- Whitney Francois vs. Kastriot Xhema
- John Beneduce vs. Kenny Rivera
For more on Bellator 222, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
