Bellator 200 appears to be a likely stacked card from the Viacom owned promotion.
On Monday morning, Bellator MMA announced the first two bouts for the upcoming event. Middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho (15-1) defending his crown against Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2) will likely serve as the main event.
Also announced for the show, London’s own Michael “Venom” Page (12-0) takes on David “The Caveman” Rickels (19-4, 2 NC). Additional main card and preliminary bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Bellator continues to place a huge emphasis on its expansion into markets around the globe and creating a strong presence in the U.K. is a very important part of that,” Bellator President Scott Coker said.
“Our fans are going to be excited about the card we put together for this monumental event, as Bellator 200 will be one of our greatest to date.”
Bellator 200 is set to take place on Friday, May 25, 2018, from The SSE Arena, Wembley.
The preliminary card will air online at 7:00 pm EST while the main card will air on Paramount Network at 9:00 PM EST.
Carvalho receives his toughest challenge to date when he meets Mousasi in London. He has beaten Joe Schilling, Alessio Sakara, Melvin Manhoef and Brandon Halsey while under the Bellator banner. He has tied the record for most title defenses in the division’s history in the process.
On the flip side, Mousasi made a great impression in his promotional debut over former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko. That win pushed his current unbeaten streak to six fights. He holds victories over some of the biggest names in the history of the sport including Chris Weidman, Vitor Belfort, Uriah Hall, Dan Henderson, “Jacare” Souza, Mark Hunt and Ovince Saint-Preux.
What are your thoughts on this fights being announced for this upcoming event? Sound off in the comment section below.
