Musayev (18-4) had been expected to face Zach Zane (15-11) at Bellator 278 this Friday, April 22 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Zane, however, has been forced out of the fight, and Musayev pulled from the card as a result.

Cageside Press confirmed the news with a source familiar with the situation on Tuesday, following an initial report by MMA Fighting.

No reason was reported for Zane’s withdrawal from the fight. It’s unclear whether the promotion will try to keep the match-up together, but regadless, Musayev will be making his debut at a later date.

A RIZIN lightweight grand prix winner, Musayev last competed in June of 2021, when he returned to action after a year and a half layoff, losing his title to Roberto “Satoshi” Souza.

Bellator 278, headlined by a women’s flyweight championship fight between Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche, takes place at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii this Friday, April 22. The following bouts have been reported for the event:

• Juliana Velasquez (c) vs. Liz Carmouche – for the Bellator MMA women’s flyweight championship
• Nikita Mikhailov vs. Enrique Barzola – bantamweight grand prix wild card bout
• Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello – bantamweight grand prix wild card bout
• Christian Edwards vs. Grant Neal
• Nate Andrews vs. Manny Muro
• Dante Schiro vs. Scotty Hao
• Weber Almeida vs. Fabricio Franco
• Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Érik Pérez
• Makoa Cooper vs. Blake Perry

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The former RIZIN FF lightweight champion has been booked opposite Zach Zane at Bellator 278 later this month. Promotion officials confirmed the bout to Cageside Press on Friday, following an initial report by AZE Fighters.

Musayev (18-4) signed on with Bellator earlier this year, one of several RIZIN alumni to join the company of late. The Azerbaijan-born fighter last competed in June of 2021, losing his RIZIN belt to Roberto “Satoshi” Souza. The loss snapped a 14-fight win streak that included victories over familiar names including Darion Cruickshank, Damien Brown, Johnny Case, and current Bellator lightweight champ Patricky Pitbull.

In an extended layoff between 2019 and his 2021 loss to Souza, Musayev spent time as an active-duty soldier in the Azerbaijani military.

Zane (15-11) first hit radars on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. After losing on the show to Justin Gonzales, another current Bellator fighter, Zane went 1-1 on the regional circuit. He then debuted for Bellator MMA in 2019 with a win over Hawaii’s Nainoa Dung. Since then, Zane has posted a 1-2 record outside the promotion, competing for the likes of LFA and Eagle FC.

Come Bellator 278, Zane will be looking to snap a two-fight skid.

Bellator 278 takes place on Friday, April 22, 2022 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. Topped by a women’s flyweight title fight featuring Julianna Velasquez defending her belt opposite Liz Carmouche, the event is the first of back-to-back shows in the island state.

The event currently features the following reported bouts:

• Juliana Velasquez (c) vs. Liz Carmouche – for the Bellator MMA women’s flyweight championship
• TBA vs. Enrique Barzola – bantamweight grand prix wild card bout
• Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello – bantamweight grand prix wild card bout
• Christian Edwards vs. Grant Neal
• Nate Andrews vs. Manny Muro
• Weber Almeida vs. Fabricio Franco
• Cee Jay Hamilton vs. Érik Pérez
• Makoa Cooper vs. Blake Perry
• Tofiq Musayev vs. Zach Zane

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MMA Fighting was first to report the news on Tuesday. The lightweight scrap joins a card headlined by a middleweight title fight featuring Strikeforce and UFC veteran Gegard Mousasi, taking on welterweight champ Douglas Lima. That latter will become the latest Bellator fighter looking to achieve double-champ status.

For Newell (16-3), it’s a chance to bounce back from a split decision loss to Manny Muro at Bellator 232. That defeat, just the third of the 34-year old’s career, snapped a two-fight win streak. Prior to that, Newell had come up short on Dana White’s Contender Series, losing a unanimous decision to Team Alpha Male fighter Alex Munoz.

He’ll be looking for a better result against Zane, a.k.a. “God’s Warrior.” A Hawaiian training out of Black House MMA, Zane has traded wins and losses across his last four fights. After losing to Justin Gonzales on the Contender Series, Zane picked up a win on the regional circuit, then suffered a loss to Max Rohskopf (who would himself join the UFC only to quit on the stool in an infamous incident earlier this year). However, in his Bellator debut last December, Zane earned a decision win over Nainoa Dung.

Bellator 250 takes place October 29 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

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While one ‘Notorious’ fighter made his return in January, another is set to get back in the cage next month. The ‘Notorious’ Nick Newell (16-3) will face Dana White’s Contender Series alum Zach Zane (14-9) at Bellator 241 in March. The promotion announced the fight Thursday.

For Newell, who finally got his shot in a major promotion last year, the fight will have him looking to bounce back from just the third loss of an impressive career. The former WSOF title challenger (against Justin Gaethje) is 1-1 in Bellator to date. And of course, it’s worth noting that Newell is a congenital amputee, making him a rather remarkable athlete.

Zane, who came up short on the Contender Series last year, has gone 2-1 since. His lone loss in that time came to undefeated prospect Max Rohskopf, while he won his Bellator MMA debut against Nainoa Dung in December.

Bellator 241 takes place in Newell’s back yard, so the New England-based fighter should have heavy crowd support. The event goes down on March 13, 2020 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The card is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champ Patricio Pitbull and Pedro Carvalho — part of the promotion’s ongoing featherweight grand prix.

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Nainoa Dung has had a strong start to his MMA career. The Hawaiian is 3-0 with finishes in his first two fights, signing with Bellator after his MMA debut. Most recently, the lightweight defeated Brad Robison on the prelims of Bellator 224 in July.

Zach Zane is a journeyman who has competed in several Hawaiian promotions, Alaska FC, Brave CF, and Dana White’s Contender Series. Zane has fought five times in 2019, going 3-2. “God’s Warrior” has lost in two of his last three and will be making his Bellator debut.

Zach Zane started quickly with a leg kick then a flurry of punches that didn’t connect, but backed Nainoa Dung up. Zane then shot for a takedown and got it. He had a good two minutes of top control from guard, then Dung broke free. Dung exploded with a flurry, but Zane just turned it into another takedown. Zane rode out the round on top.

Zane threw a head kick early on, then had a takedown attempt stuffed. He stayed on him though and eventually dragged Dung down. Zane took his back, then Dung reversed positions as Zane went for mount to take guard. Dung tried to hang on as Zane spun out, looking for his back, but Zane ended up in top position. Dung tried to sweep, but stayed on his back. At the very end of the round, Zane went for a guillotine, but couldn’t quite establish body control.

Hooks were flying from both sides to start the third round. Dung changed the tide of the fight with a body kick that crushed Zane. Zane shot for a desperation takedown, but ended up in a guillotine attempt. Zane escaped and Dung got back to his feet soon affter. Two more crushing body kicks landed for Dung, leading to another takedown attempt and guillotine effort. A back-and-forth scramble ensued, with Zane ending up on top at the final bell.

.@NainoaDung leads with a powerful leg kick!#BellatorHawaii #Bellator236 pic.twitter.com/v5asTKtLmo

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) December 22, 2019

Zach Zane def. Nainoa Dung by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)

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Call it the season three curse. The season opener of Dana White’s Contender Series had a fight drop off the card last minute, when Leon Shahbazyan had to stop his weight cut. Well, here we are at week two, and a fighter missed weight badly enough for the show to shuffle the deck. That came when Victor Reyna tipped the scales at a whopping 178lbs for his main event fight against Miguel Baeza.

Baeza made weight, but the promotion opted to move the bout, making it the card opener, instead of the closer. At least the bout was saved.

With the switch-up, Alton Cunningham vs. Tony Johnson at light heavyweight becomes the new headliner for Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 Week 2.

For a full breakdown of all the fights on Tuesday’s card, check out our Week 2 breakdown. For full results, check below throughout the event, where Cageside Press will be on hand.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 Week 2 Results:

Alton Cunningham vs. Tony Johnson

Tony Johnson (@tjohnsonboxing) def. Alton Cunningham (@altonthebo_man) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in Round Three

Zach Zane vs. Justin Gonzales

Michael Lombardo vs. Kyle Daukaus

Kyle Daukaus (@kyle_daukaus) def. Michael Lombardo (@michaelvlombardo) via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 29-27) in Round 3

Richie Santiago vs. Miles Johns

Miles Johns (@milesxjohns) def. Richie Santiago (@ricardomiguel1010) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) in Round 3

Miguel Baeza vs. Victor Reyna

Miguel Baeza def. Victor Reyna in Round 3 via Unanimous Decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28)

CONTRACT WINNERS: Miguel Baeza and Miles Johns

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 Week 2 Live Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Welterweight: Victor Reyna vs. Miguel Baeza

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Victor Reyna

Miguel Baeza

Who has the Advantage?

Striking: Baeza
Speed: Baeza
Knockout Power: Baeza
Chin: Baeza
Kickboxing: Baeza
Footwork: Baeza
Wrestling: Reyna
Grappling: Neither
Submissions: Neither
Cardio: Baeza

Prediction

Miguel Baeza, from the tape I’ve watched, looks impressive. The thing is, he doesn’t have much footage available. Baeza did go from fighting an excellent prospect in Ramiz Brahimaj to now fighting Reyna. With all due respect, as much as Baeza is unknown, I’m not impressed with Reyna. Reyna has lost to Kevin Holland but also to competition with records of 2-3, 20-10, and a 16-10 (as that fight was later switched to a no contest). While Baeza hasn’t fought good competition yet, this is a winnable fight for him.

Next: Alton Cunningham vs. Tony Johnson

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