After a quick win in his pro debut, one of Jon Jones’ proteges and training partners has his next assignment queued up.
Christian Edwards (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take on Cesar Gutierrez (1-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at Bellator 233 in November, a promotion official told MMA Junkie. The light heavyweight bout is expected to be part of the preliminary card.
Bellator 233 takes place. Nov. 8 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Edwards was supposed to make his pro debut in March in Thackerville, but his opponent, Roman Huerta, came in more than 20 pounds heavy and their fight was canceled. Edwards had to wait nearly four more months for his first pro fight, but made it count.
In July at Bellator 224, also in Thackerville, he took out Justin Vargas with a TKO in just 54 seconds. The fast finish was nothing new for Edwards, who trains alongside UFC light heavyweight champion Jones at JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M. All three of his amateur fights ended with quick finishes, as well.
Gutierrez, from Texas, won his pro debut with a first-round knockout in 2018. But the past year hasn’t been as easy of a road. After a first-round knockout loss to Antonio Martinez a year ago, he had two fights canceled, then lost seven seconds into the second round at a Shamrock FC event in February.
