Bellator 283 has new main and co-main events.
With Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Freire out due to injury, former RIZIN champion Tofiq Musayev (18-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has stepped in to fight Sidney Outlaw (16-4 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) in what is now a three-round lightweight bout. The fight will be the co-main event, as the original fight in that slot, Jason Jaskson (15-4 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) vs. Douglas Lima (32-10 MMA, 14-6 BMMA), has been moved from a three-round bout to a five-round headliner.
News of Freire’s injury was first reported by Sherdog. A promotion official then confirmed Tuesday the withdrawal and informed MMA Junkie of the new booking and welterweight headliner.
Bellator 283 takes place July 22 at Emerald Queen Casino and Hotel in Tacoma, Wash. with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.
The bout will mark Musayev’s debut after signing with the promotion in early 2022. He was scheduled to fight Zach Zane in April, but the bout was canceled when his opponent withdrew. Musayev holds a win over Freire from a RIZIN crossover bout in December 2019.
Outlaw solidified his title shot with back-to-back victories over Adam Piccolotti and Myles Jury. His only loss in Bellator came against Michael Chandler in December 2019.
With the changes, the Bellator 283 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
- Douglas Lima vs. Jason Jackson
- Tofiq Musayev vs. Sidney Outlaw
- Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Chris Gonzalez
- Lorenz Larkin vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov
- Davion Franklin vs. Marcelo Golm
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7 p.m. ET)
- Viktor Nemkov vs. Jose Augusto
- Romero Cotton vs. Dalton Rosta
- Veta Arteaga vs. Vanessa Porto
- Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Bobby King
- Jaylon Bates vs. Mark Coates
- Roman Faraldo vs. Luis Iniguez
- Vladimir Tokov vs. Justin Montalvo
- Ethan Hughes vs. Kevin Hand
- Kai Kamaka III vs. Akhmed Magomedov
