All fighters weighed in successfully this morning ahead of tomorrow’s BELLATOR 292: Nurmagomedov vs. Henderson, which takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The talent-stacked main card will air LIVE in the U.S. on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Headlining BELLATOR 292 will be a Lightweight World Championship bout between reigning titleholder and unbeaten Usman Nurmagomedov (16-0) and surefire future MMA Hall of Famer and former world champion #3-Benson “Smooth” Henderson (30-11). The five-round title fight will also serve as one of the opening quarterfinal matchups of the $1,000,000 BELLATOR Lightweight World Grand Prix, the best 155-pound tournament field in modern MMA history.
In the co-main event of the evening, No. 2-ranked lightweight contender and former RIZIN champion Tofiq Musayev (20-4) will battle with No. 4-ranked Alexandr Shabliy (22-3) in a clash of two of the division’s most dangerous strikers. The Lightweight World Grand Prix quarterfinal will see each man put their undefeated BELLATOR record on the line in a fight pundits expect to contend for “Fight of the Year” honors when the dust settles.
Rounding out the main card are two pivotal matchups between Top 5 ranked contenders at heavyweight and welterweight sure to provide further clarity to each division’s title pictures: former Interim Heavyweight World Champion and No. 1-ranked contender Valentin Moldavsky (11-2, 1 NC) will look to take up his mentor Fedor Emelianenko’s mantle as the next heavyweight title contender in a rematch with surging U.K. star and No. 2-ranked Linton “Big Swarm” Vassell (23-8), who has gone a blistering 4-1 since moving up to heavyweight. Plus, BELLATOR’s all-time knockout leader in superstar No. 2-ranked Michael “Venom” Page (20-2) will battle BELLATOR’s all-time submission leader, No. 5-ranked Brazilian Goiti Yamauchi (28-5) in a can’t-miss affair.
The preliminary portion of the event, which features six exciting matchups including an all-Latin American clash between Enrique “El Fuerte” Barzola (18-7-2) and Erik “Goyito” Perez (20-8), will air LIVE and FREE beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT on the BELLATOR MMA YouTube Channel, the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel, and Pluto TV.
Limited tickets for BELLATOR 292 remain on sale and can be purchased through Bellator.com.
