Bellator will continue to be in the tournament business in
2023.
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During an appearance on “The MMA Hour,” Bellator president Scott Coker revealed that
the promotion will hold a lightweight grand prix sometime next
year. While the participants have yet to be determined, Coker is
targeting February for the beginning of the 155-pound bracket.
“We’re going to finish our light heavyweight tournament in
November, the [bantamweight] semifinals in December,” Coker said.
“I feel like we want to set this off in February. February would be
a good month and the bantamweight tournament [finals] sometime in
March.”
Some of the athletes Coker mentioned who could take part in the
eight-man tournament include Patricky
Freire, Usman
Nurmagomedov, Tofiq
Musayev, Benson
Henderson, Brent
Primus and A.J. McKee.
Signing free agent Eddie
Alvarez for the grand prix is also a possibility, Coker
admitted.
The Bellator light heavyweight grand prix was delayed after the
first meeting between Vadim
Nemkov and Corey
Anderson ended in a no contest. That tournament will conclude
when Nemkov and Anderson lock horns again in the Bellator 288 main
event on Nov. 18. Meanwhile, the bantamweight grand prix semifinals
are set for Bellator 289 on Dec. 9, as Raufeon
Stots meets Danny
Sabatello, while Magomed
Magomedov takes on Patrick
Mix.