Bellator MMA returns to Southern California with two events in less than a week when they present Bellator 228 in Inglewood, CA, and Bellator 229 in Temecula, CA.
On Saturday, Bellator MMA presents Bellator 228: Pitbull vs. Archuleta at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, featuring the remaining first-round bouts in the 16-Man Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix. The first set of opening-round matches in the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix took place earlier this month at Bellator 226 on September 7th in San Jose, CA.
Bellator 228: Pitbull vs. Archuleta is scheduled to be headlined by a Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix First Round bout for the Bellator Featherweight Championship between current two-time champion Patrício “Pitbull” Freire and Juan Archuleta. The bout will be the third title defense of Freire’s second reign as champion at Featherweight. Freire is also the current Bellator Lightweight Champion. His opponent, Juan Archuleta, is no stranger to being a champion in multiple weight classes. Before signing with Bellator MMA, the Hesperia native was a four-division champion in King of the Cage. He will be heading into this bout having won his last 18 fights.
Other bouts in the first round of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix set to take place on the Bellator 228 main card include A. J. McKee vs. Georgi Karakhanyan, Darrion Caldwell vs. Henry Corrales, and Daniel Weichel vs. Saul Rogers.
In the co-main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will make his third appearance in a Bellator cage when he goes up against former Bellator Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi. The bout will be Mousasi’s first fight since losing the Middleweight title to Rafael Lovato Jr. via majority decision at Bellator 223 in London, England on June 22nd, 2019. Machida will be heading into this bout having won his last four fights.
Bellator 228: Pitbull vs. Archuleta’s main card will be streamed live on DAZN at 7:00 PM.
Bellator 228: Pitbull vs. Archuleta’s prelims are scheduled to feature the debut of professional boxer turned MMA fighter Ava Knight vs. Shannon Goughary. Knight is a former WBC, IBF and IFBA titleholder and the first American female to earn the WBC Diamond Belt. Also in action on the prelims, jiu-jitsu standout AJ Agazarm will go up against Jonathan Quiroz, Antonio McKee faces William Sriyapai and more.
Here is the current lineup for Bellator 228: Pitbull vs. Archuleta on Saturday:
Main Card (Streaming live on DAZN at 7:00 PM)
- Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix First Round, Bellator Featherweight Championship bout: Patrício “Pitbull” Freire (MMA Record: 29-4) vs. Juan Archuleta (MMA Record: 23-1)
- Lyoto Machida (MMA Record: 26-8) vs. Gegard Mousasi (MMA Record: 45-7-2)
- Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix First Round bout: A. J. McKee (MMA Record: 14-0) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (MMA Record: 28-9-1)
- Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix First Round bout: Darrion Caldwell (MMA Record: 13-3) vs. Henry Corrales (MMA Record: 17-3)
- Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix First Round bout: Daniel Weichel (MMA Record: 39-11) vs. Saul Rogers (MMA Record: 13-2)
Prelims (Streaming live on the Bellator MMA Global App and Bellator.com at 4:30 PM)
- Antonio McKee (MMA Record: 29-6-2) vs.William Sriyapai (MMA Record: 13-8)
- Shawn Bunch (MMA Record: 9-3) vs. Leandro Higo (MMA Record: 18-5)
- Joshua Jones (MMA Record: 8-4) vs. Dominic Clark (MMA Record: 14-8)
- Mike Jasper (MMA Record: 13-5) vs. Johnny Cisneros (MMA Record: 12-7)
- James Barnes (MMA Record: 11-4) vs. David Duran (MMA Record: 8-5)
- Emilio Williams (MMA Record: 4-2) vs. Ian Butler (MMA Record: 6-6)
- Andre Walker (MMA Record 5-2) vs. Osman Diaz (MMA Record: 2-1)
- AJ Agazarm (MMA Record: 1-1) vs. Johnathan Quiroz (MMA Record: 3-3)
- Weber Almeida (MMA Record: 2-0) vs. Castle Williams (MMA Record: 3-2)
- Jason Edwards (MMA Record: 2-0) vs. Adrian Najera (MMA Record: 1-0)
- Jay Viola (MMA Record: 1-1) vs. Jonathan Santa Maria (MMA Record: 3-4)
- Ava Knight (MMA Record: 0-0, Pro MMA Debut) vs. Shannon Goughary (MMA Record: 3-3)
Tickets for Bellator 228 are available on Ticketmaster.com.
On October 4th, Bellator 229: Koreshkov vs. Larkin takes place at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA. The event is slated to be headlined by a welterweight bout between former Bellator Welterweight Champion Andrey Koreshkov and Lorenz Larkin. Both men are coming off decision victories in their previous bouts. Larkin is currently riding a two-fight win streak, while Koreshkov has gotten three wins in his last four bouts. In the co-main event, Saad Awad will go up against Goiti Yamauchi. Rounding out the four-fight main card, Joe Schilling faces Tony Johnson, and Keri Melendez will go up against Mandy Polk.
Bellator 229’s main card begins at 6:00 PM and is scheduled to air on Paramount Network. Check your local television listings for airtimes. The main card will also be streamed live on DAZN
Here is the current lineup for Bellator 229: Koreshkov vs. Larkin on October 4th:
Main Card (Airing on Paramount Network and streaming live on DAZN)
- Andrey Koreshkov (MMA Record: 22-3) vs. Lorenz Larkin (MMA Record: 20-7)
- Saad Awad (MMA Record: 23-11) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (MMA Record: 23-4)
- Joe Schilling (MMA Record: 4-5) vs. Tony Johnson (MMA Record: 8-2)
- Keri Melendez (MMA Record: 3-0) vs. Mandy Polk (MMA Record: 6-4)
Prelims/Postlims (Streaming live on the Bellator MMA Global App and Bellator.com)
- Anatoly Tokov (MMA Record: 28-2) vs. Hracho Darpinyan (MMA Record: 17–82)
- Derek Anderson (MMA Record: 15-3) vs. Guilherme Bomba (MMA Record: 10-5)
- Johnny Eblen (MMA Record: 5-0) vs. Mauricio Alonso (MMA Record: 13-7)
- Joey Davis (MMA Record: 5-0) vs. Jeff Peterson (MMA Record: 10-6)
- Adel Altamimi (MMA Record: 8-5) vs. Salim Mukhidinov (MMA Record: 5-3)
- Vladimir Tokov (MMA Record: 4-0) vs. Brandon Hastings (MMA Record: 6-3)
- Jay Jay Wilson (MMA Record: 2-0) vs. Jorge Juarez (MMA Record: 3-0)
- Sunni Imhotep (MMA Record: 2-0) vs. Kelvin Gentapanan (MMA Record: 0-0, Pro Debut)
- Jordan Newman (MMA Record: 1-0) vs. Riley Miller (MMA Record: 0-0, Pro Debut)
Tickets for Bellator 229 are available on Ticketmaster.com.
