We return to San Jose with a !
AJ McKee vs Pitbull 2
Vadim Nemkov vs Corey Anderson’s go on sale This Friday on Ticketmaster.
#Bellator277 pic.twitter.com/vinnSdL7RL
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA)
February 16, 2022
Bellator 277 will feature a pair of championships fights at the top
of the bill, as A.J. McKee
will face Patricio
Freire in a featherweight title rematch, while Vadim
Nemkov will defend his light heavyweight crown in the finals of
the light heavyweight grand prix.
The California-based promotion announced the bouts on Wednesday.
Bellator 277 takes place on April 15 at the SAP Center in San Jose,
Calif., and the evening’s main card will air on Showtime.
McKee claimed 145-pound gold last July, when he submitted Patricio
Freire 1:57 into the opening round of the Bellator 263
headliner in Los Angeles. The 26-year-old known as “Mercenary” is
18-0 as a professional, with all of his triumphs coming within the
California-based promotion.
The 34-year-old Freire will be seeking his third run as
featherweight champion in Bellator MMA. “Pitbull”, who recently
vacated the promotion’s lightweight crown in order to pursue a
rematch with McKee, had a seven-bout winning streak snapped in his
loss to the Team Bodyshop standout.
Nemkov initially captured the 205-pound belt when he scored a
second-round TKO of Ryan Bader at
Bellator 244 in August 2020. He then took a five-round verdict
against Phil Davis
and submitted Julius
Anglickas in the fourth round to advance to the finals of
Bellator’s light heavyweight grand prix.
A former UFC light heavyweight contender, Anderson made his
promotional debut in November 2020, when he stopped Melvin
Manhoef in the second frame at Bellator 251. He then made his
way through the 205-pound bracket with stoppages of Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov and Bader.