Bellator 300 is down one of its title fights.
Just five days from the historic event, Linton Vassell has withdrawn from his heavyweight title fight against champion Ryan Bader because of an undisclosed illness. As a result, the bout has been scrapped altogether. Bellator 300, which takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, will proceed with a three-title-fight main card.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the news Monday. Bellator later made an announcement.
Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) vs. Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) would have been a rematch of a November 2017 light heavyweight title fight in which Bader made his first successful title defense by second-round TKO at Bellator 186.
Bader vs. Vassell was one of four scheduled title fights at Bellator 300, along with Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano at women’s featherweight; Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus at lightweight; and Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane at women’s flyweight.
With the cancellation, here is the updated Bellator 300 lineup:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus – for lightweight title; lightweight grand prix semifinal
- Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano – for women’s featherweight title
- Champ Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane – for women’s flyweight title
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6:30 p.m. ET)
- Davion Franklin vs. Slim Trabelsi
- Henry Corrales vs. Kai Kamaka
- Leah McCourt vs. Sara McMann
- Jena Bishop vs. Ilara Joanne
- Alberto Garcia vs. Bobby Seronio III
- Romero Cotton vs. Grant Neal
- Sergio Cossio vs. Jesse Roberts
- Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Herman Terrado
- Maciej Rozanski vs. Doveltdzhan Yagshimuradov
- Dmytrii Hrytsenko vs. Justin Montalvo
- Bryce Meredith vs. Miguel Peimbert
- Jackie Cataline vs. Lorrany Santos
- Josh Hokit vs. Spencer Smith
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
