The third Bellator MMA card of 2023 has picked up some additional fighters, including a key welterweight bout.
Bellator 292, which takes place on March 10, 2023, will see Michael “Venom” Page (20-2) face off with Goiti Yamauchi in a battle of ranked welterweights.
That main-card match-up was announced on Wednesday, along with several preliminary card bouts. Those include Julius Anglickas (10-3) vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (19-7-1) at light heavyweight, Bobby Seronio III (3-0) vs. Alberto Garcia (2-0) at bantamweight, Enrique Barzola (18-7-2) vs. Erik Perez (20-8) also at bantamweight, and Khalid Murtazaliev (15-3) vs. Tony Johnson (9-3) at middleweight. Finishing off the newly announced bouts is a lightweight affair, Islam Mamedov (22-2-1) vs. Shamil Nikaev (10-0, 1 NC).
The return of “MVP” will mark his first action since a May 2022 loss to Logan Storley for the promotion’s interim welterweight title. In just his second loss as a pro, Page dropped a split decision against “Storm.” Storley will face returning welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov in a title unification bout later this month, while Page looks to jump back to the head of the line against Brazilian Yamauchi.
Goiti Yamauchi has won three straight, most recently knocking out Neiman Gracie last August. The 30-year old has spent the last decade with the promotion, starting out as a featherweight in 2013, then moving to lightweight in 2016. In 2022, Yamauchi made the move to welterweight, where he is undefeated thus far.
Bellator 292 is set to take place at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA on March 10. The following bouts have been announced for the card by the promotion:
- Usman Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Benson Henderson — for the Bellator MMA lightweight championship / lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
- Tofiq Musayev vs. Alexander Shabliy — lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
- Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell
- Michael Page vs. Goiti Yamauchi
- Leandro Higo vs. James Gallagher
- Enrique Barzola vs. Erik Perez
- Keri Taylor Melendez vs. Bruna Ellen
- Cass Bell vs. Josh Hill
- Islam Mamedov vs. Shamil Nikaev
- Khalid Murtazaliev vs. Tony Johnson
- Julius Anglickas vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
- Bobby Seronio III vs. Alberto Garcia
- Laird Anderson vs. Rogelio Luna
- Wladmir Gouvea vs. Sean Tucker
- Theo Haig vs. Adam Wamsley
- Dupree Stewart vs. Demetri Georgiades
