Bellator MMA will return to Dublin, Ireland’s 3Arena this September, with Irish star Sinead Kavanagh along for the ride.
SBG Ireland’s Kavanagh (9-5) should have the local crowd behind her when she takes on Sara Collins (4-0) in a women’s featherweight match-up at Bellator 299. The event takes place September 23, 2023, airing on Showtime in the U.S.
Kavanagh, a teammate of Conor McGregor, is 4-1 in her past five fights, with the lone loss coming in a failed bid to capture the Bellator MMA women’s featherweight championship against Cris Cyborg.
Australia’s Collins made her promotional debut in her last fight, beating veteran featherweight Pam “Bam” Sorenson.
Bellator officials announced the fight via press release on Thursday, along with five other newly revealed match-ups for Bellator 299.
Those additional fights see British light heavyweight Luke Trainer (7-1) welcome promotional newcomer Laurynas “Captain Lithuania” Urbonavicius (14-1) to the Bellator cage, while Scottish lightweight Mark Ewen (4-0) makes his promotional debut against fellow newcomer Noah Gugnon (1-1) of France. At featherweight, a pair of undefeated prospects collide as Kenny “Black Diamond” Mokhonoana (5-0) goes up against Welshman Josh O’Connor (4-0).
Rounding out the new additions, Italy’s Chiara “Beasty Barbie” Penco (8-3) takes on Mackenzie “Mack Judo” Stiller (1-0), fresh off a win over Maria Henderson in a women’s strawweight match-up, while another Italian talent, Nicolo “The Monkey King” Solli (5-1) faces France’s Romain Debienne (9-4) at welterweight.
Bellator 299 is set to be headlined by a previously announced middleweight fight as Johnny Eblen defends his title against England’s Fabian Edwards. The card as announced to date consists of the following match-ups:
- Johnny Eblen (c) vs. Fabian Edwards — for the Bellator MMA middleweight championship
- Brian Moore vs. Otto Rodrigues
- Mads Burnell vs. Daniel Weichel
- Sinead Kavanagh vs. Sara Collins
- Luke Trainer vs. Laurynas Urbonavicius
- Mark Ewen vs. Noah Gugnon
- Kenny Mokhonoana vs. Josh O’Connor
- Chiara Penco vs. Mackenzie Stiller
- Nicolo Solli vs. Romain Debienne