Bellator 244 is now down one fight, as a proposed lightweight
clash between Shane
Kruchten and Lance Gibson
Jr. has been removed from Friday’s card.
According to a promotion official, Kruchten was not licensed by the
Mohegan Sun commission. MMAjunkie.com
was first to report the cancellation.
As it currently stands, Bellator 244 will move forward with 11
bouts. The card takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville,
Connecticut, and is headlined by a light heavyweight title clash
between Ryan Bader
and Vadim
Nemkov. The evening’s main card airs on Paramount Network and
Dazn at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT, while the prelims stream immediately
prior on Bellator’s YouTube channel beginning at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT.
Kruchten vs. Gibson Jr. was slated for the preliminary draw.
The 36-year-old Kruchten is 0-2 with the California-based promotion
after being finished by Aaron Pico
and Daniel
Straus in his first two appearances. The 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu
representative is 12-5 as a professional overall.
Gibson Jr., meanwhile, is 3-0 in his burgeoning professional
career. He kicked off his promotional tenure with a first-round
knockout of Dominic
Jones at Bellator 232 this past October.