Heavyweights will be on the menu for Bellator MMA’s July 16 event.
Per a promotion official on Thursday, Ronny
Markes (19-8) will make his return to the Bellator cage on July
16 against Said Sowma
(6-2). The two big men will toe the line at
Bellator 262, which will be held inside the Mohegan Sun Arena
in Uncasville, Conn. Both will be looking to rebound off of
unsuccessful organizational debuts in late 2020.
Markes, at one time a middleweight when competing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has moved up to
heavyweight over the years after missing weight badly in both the
middleweight and light heavyweight categories. The well-traveled
Brazilian vet competed several times under the Professional Fighters League banner the last
few years, but he never won his way into the playoffs in any year.
His Bellator debut saw him fall short to Linton
Vassell in December, losing by knockout in the second
frame.
Like Markes, Sowma will be aiming to get back in the win column
after losing a decision to Tyrell
Fortune in November. The loss to Fortune snapped a six-fight
win streak that saw him beat the likes of Bobby Brents
and Quentin
Henry. With several victories under Titan Fighting Championships, Sowma made his
way to Bellator only to lose to Fortune. The Suriname native made
his debut in the sport in 2018, over a decade later than his
upcoming adversary.
Bellator 262 will go down at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville,
Conn., on July 16. The event with fans in the building will proceed
with a headliner pitting flyweight champ Juliana
Velasquez against Denise
Kielholtz. No other fights have been announced for this card at
this time.