Bellator MMA’s first event under its new ownership in the PFL has been officially announced, with Bellator 302 in Belfast, Northern Ireland adding some local flavour in Leah McCourt vs. Sinead Kavanagh.
As previously reported, the event is set to be headlined by Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore, competing for the promotion’s vacant light heavyweight title. On Monday, promotion officials confirmed that fight via press release while announcing the rematch between McCourt and Kavanagh, who first met in 2022.
McCourt is currently ranked #1 in Bellator’s women’s featherweight division. Kavanagh sits at #6.
Leah McCourt (8-3) was last in action this past October, when she stopped Sara McMann, a former UFC title challenger and Olympic silver medalist, by TKO inside of a round. “The Curse,” who lives in Belfast, is 2-2 across her last four fights, with a victory over Dayana Silva and losses to Cat Zingano, and Kavanagh in the pair’s first meeting.
Ireland’s Sinead Kavanagh (9-6) boasts an identical 2-2 record across her own last four fights dating back to a failed title bid against Cris Cyborg in November 2021. Following that, she picked up wins over McCourt and Janay Harding before losing to Sara Collins in a close split decision last September.
Bellator 302 will take place on March 22 at The SSE Arena, Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The card will be the first of eight planned events for the promotion in 2024, which the PFL are branding as the Bellator Champions Series.
“After the landmark acquisition of Bellator, the Professional Fighters League is excited to officially announce a new era of MMA with the launch of the ‘Bellator Champions Series‘ global franchise,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray in Monday’s press release. “‘The Bellator Champions Series’ will feature reigning Bellator Champion fighters defending their titles against the best fighters in the world from the start studded Bellator roster. Fans will have access to the best competition and the most innovate formats in MMA distributed by leaders in sport including DAZN.”
