With no opponent after Gegard Mousasi fell off the card due to injury, Rafael Lovato Jr. has been pulled from Bellator 214.
Rafael Lovato Jr. will not be competing at Bellator 214 later this month. Originally scheduled to challenge champ Gegard Mousasi for the promotion’s middleweight crown, Lovato was left in limbo when Mousasi fell off the card due to injury. While the promotion explored booking the skilled jiu-jitsu ace against another opponent, ultimately, no replacement was found. MMA Junkie was first to report that Lovato was officially off the card.
A featherweight battle between prodigy Aaron Pico and Henry Corrales has been moved to the co-main event slot at Bellator 214. The event is headlined by the Heavyweight Grand Prix finale between Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi.
Lovato Jr. (9-0), meanwhile, will be booked onto a card in the near future, per Bellator officials. One would assume he will still be in line for a title shot, though the timetable for Mousasi’s return will likely play into whether that fight is the one booked.
The Bellator 214 card now looks as follows:
MAIN CARD (Paramount/DAZN, 9PM EST)
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader – for the Bellator heavyweight championship
Henry Corrales vs. Aaron Pico
Jake Hager vs. J.W. Kiser
Juan Archuleta vs. Ricky Bandejas
PRELIMINARY CARD (Cageside Press/Bellator App, 7PM EST)
Richard LeRoy vs. Mike Segura
Jorge Juarez vs. David Pacheco
Tyler Beneke vs. Jay Jay Wilson
Bobby Newman vs. Christopher Reyes
Jesse Merrit vs. Thor Skancke
Sean Johnson vs. Art Rivas
Weber Almeida vs. Odan Chinchilla
