Officials announced Thursday that Penn State University will play host to Bellator 186 on November 3rd, and light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader will defend his title against Linton Vassell. In addition, Phil Davis (17-4) and Ed Ruth (3-0) will also be on the card.
Bader (23-5) captured the 205-pound belt in his promotional debut, earning a split-decision nod over Davis at Bellator 180 in June. The UFC veteran heads into his first title defense on a three-fight win streak.
Vassell (18-5) also heads into this matchup on a three-fight win streak, including a third-round submission win over former champion Liam McGeary at Bellator 179 in May. The 34-year-old has gone 7-2 during his tenure in Bellator.
Lyoto Machida vs. Derek Brunson in the works for UFC Fight Night 119 Combate broke the news Thursday that former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will face Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night 119 in Sao Paulo on October 28th. Machida (22-7 MMA, 14-7 UFC) will return from a suspension to take on Derek Brunson (17-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 119 in Sao Paulo.
Machida (22-7) hasn’t competed since a June 2016 setback to Yoel Romero at UFC Fight Night 70, which was his third loss in his last four fights. The 39-year-old was slated to face Dan Henderson at UFC on FOX 19, however, he was removed from the event after declaring the use of a banned substance. As a result, USADA handed down an 18-month suspension on Machida.
Brunson (17-5) is coming off a 76-second knockout over Dan Kelly at UFC Fight Night 110 in June, which snapped his two-fight losing streak. The 33-year-old has gone 8-3 since signing with the UFC in 2013.
Belal Muhammad says he’s fighting Jesse Taylor at UFC Fight Night 121 Welterweight Belal Muhammad announced on his Instagram account that he’s fighting TUF 25 winner Jesse Taylor at UFC Fight Night 121 November 19th in Sydney, Australia.
Muhammad (12-2) heads into this matchup off back-to-back wins, including a unanimous-decision victory over Jordan Mein at UFC 213 this past July. The former Titan FC welterweight champion has gone 3-2 in the UFC since signing with the promotion last year. Taylor (31-15) is coming off a second-round submission win over Dhiego Lima to take Season 25 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” But the 34-year-old is still just 2-3 in his last five fights, with all of those losses coming by way of submission.
Here’s an updated look at the card…
Mark Hunt vs. Marcin Tybura
Rashad Coulter vs. Tai Tuivasa
Ryan Benoit vs. Ashkan Mokhtarian
Belal Muhammad vs. Jesse Taylor
