The Bellator mixed martial arts championship is preparing to hold a tournament, in the main fight of which Yaroslav Amosov and Jason Jackson will perform. It could be the last for the league — at least, fighter Mukhamed Berkhamov told reporters about this.
According to Berkhamov, he was told that the Bellator 301 tournament would be the last for the promotion. He noted that this information confused many. “They said that the last tournament and that’s it, there will be no more Bellator, that’s what they told me, everything is in an incomprehensible situation now…” — the fighter emphasized.
At the same time, Berkhamov added, some athletes will not be left without work: some fighters may be signed by another American organization that organizes mixed martial arts tournaments — PFL (Professional Fighters League). However, Muhamed said, not everyone is ready to take there.
Information about the proposed closure of Bellator appeared in the media back in the summer. So, in June 2023, the president of the organization, Scott Coker, stated that the league was looking for a partner, which could be the PFL, a direct competitor of the promotion. It is still unknown in what format the league will exist.
It is noteworthy that this is not the first time in Cocker’s practice that his project has been absorbed by another organization. In 2011, the same thing happened to the Strikforce league — it was bought by the Zuffa company, which owned the UFC. Although it was assumed that Strikeforce would continue to exist and be able to hold tournaments on its own, after 2 years it finally closed, with all its leading athletes moving to the UFC.
Meanwhile, at the end of September, UFC head Dana White, commenting on the possibility of closing Bellator, noted that he was shocked by such information. However, according to him, at that time he was not considering acquiring fighters from the Cocker league.
Last Stand
Bellator 301 will take place on the night of November 18th in Chicago, Illinois. The main event of the evening will be a welterweight title fight between Yaroslav Amosov and Jason Jackson. The Ukrainian athlete has 27 victories and no defeats, his opponent’s statistics are 16–4.
Amosov last entered the octagon in February — then he won a fight with Logan Storley by a judge’s decision. Jackson is on a six-game winning streak.
In addition, the main card of the tournament will feature a lightweight Grand Prix semi-final match. Alexandre Chablius and Patricky Freire will fight in it.