For the second time in a row, champion Liz
Carmouche will be facing a challenger that missed weight.
A stacked Bellator MMA event is now official as the promotion
celebrates a monumental milestone of hitting 300 numbered events.
Earlier this week, the organization had four championship bouts
booked for the “quadruple main event.” After an illness to one
heavyweight challenger and a weight miss for one at flyweight,
Bellator’s four-pronged main card has changed significantly. While
three title fights still remain on the billing, the third will be a
one-way affair, as only the champ can retain her belt at night’s
end.
The final bout on the
Bellator 300 marquee will see Usman
Nurmagomedov look to defend his lightweight throne against
Brent
Primus in what is also a lightweight grand prix semifinal bout.
Meanwhile, Cristiane
Justino will put her featherweight strap on the line against
Cat
Zingano in the co-main event. Additionally, Carmouche was
aiming to put her flyweight title up for grabs against former champ
Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane, but the Hawaiian fighter missed weight. Macfarlane
initially weighed 127.4 pounds and then 126.6 pounds when using the
towel, only to come back heavier at the end of extra time at 128.2
pounds. Like Carmouche’s last championship encounter, challenger
Macfarlane will not be able to win the belt if she prevails. Should
Carmouche win, she retains it, but if she loses, the crown is
vacant. As for the rest of the card, all fighters made weight.
A perfect 17-0 as a professional, Nurmagomedov has become a force
to be reckoned with inside Bellator. The Dagestani fighter is
coming off impressive wins over Benson
Henderson and Patricky
Freire. The 25-year-old officially weighed 154.8 pounds for his
seventh fight in the promotion.
Primus, a former lightweight champion himself, is coming off a win
over Mansour
Barnaoui. This will serve as the semifinal for Bellator’s
lightweight world grand prix, as the victor will face the winner of
Freire vs. Alexandr
Shabliy. Primus hit the scales at 154.8 pounds for the main
attraction.
Bellator 300 will stream live on Showtime on Saturday, with the
main card starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Prelims will air
earlier on YouTube, beginning at 6:25 p.m. ET/3:25 p.m. PT.
Bellator 300 Weigh-in Results:
Usman
Nurmagomedov (154.8) vs. Brent
Primus (154.8)
Cristiane
Justino (144.6) vs. Cat Zingano
(144.6)
Liz
Carmouche (124.8) vs. Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane (126.6)*
Jackie
Cataline (145.4) vs. Lorrany
Santos (145.6)
Dmytrii
Hrytsenko (158.8) vs. Justin
Montalvo (158.6)
Bryce
Meredith (136) vs. Miguel
Peimbert (134.8)
Alberto
Garcia (137) vs. Bobby
Seronio III (138)
Leah
McCourt (146) vs. Sara McMann
(145.4)
Sergio
Cossio (156) vs. Jesse
Roberts (155.8)
Henry
Corrales (146) vs. Kai Kamaka
III (145.6)
Davion
Franklin (265) vs. Slim
Trabelsi (238.8)
Maciej
Rozanski (204.4) vs. Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov (205.4)
Mukhamed
Berkhamov (178.4) vs. Herman
Terrado (178.2)
Romero
Cotton (185.6) vs. Grant Neal
(183.6)
Jena
Bishop (125.4) vs. Ilara
Joanne (125.6)
Josh
Hokit (246) vs. Spencer
Smith (247.8)
* Macfarlane missed weight by 1.6 pounds and is ineligible to
win the title.