The previously reported middleweight title defense featuring champ Gegard Mousasi and undefeated American Top Team standout Johnny Eblen is official.
On Tuesday, Bellator MMA announced via press release that Mousasi (49-7-2) will face Eblen (11-0) atop the organization’s June 24, 2022 event at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. It’s the second straight match-up for Mousasi against an undefeated ATT fighter; in February, he quickly dispatched rising star Austin Vanderford.
In addition to the middleweight main event, the June 24 card will also feature two quarterfinal bouts in the bantamweight grand prix. One sees #4 ranked Magomed Magomedov (18-2) facing the winner of the wild card fight between Josh Hill and Enrique Barzola. The second pits #6 ranked Leandro Higo (21-5) opposite the Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello winner.
Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix kicks off in late April, when the promotion heads to Hawaii. Bellator 279 sees an interim title fight between Juan Archuleta and Raufeon Stots, a fight necessitated by an injury to champ Sergio Pettis. The other quarterfinal bout features Kyoji Horiguchi against Patchy Mix.
As for Bellator’s June 24 event at the Mohegan Sun, it will also play host to a women’s flyweight match-up featuring Alejandra Lara vs. Ilara Joanne. Lara (9-5), ranked #5 in the weight class, is a former title challenger, but has dropped her last two bouts. The unranked Joanne (9-6) has also lost two straight, most recently to former Invicta FC champ Vanessa Porto.
