Bellator has announced their landmark 200th show will take place on May 25, live from The SSE Arena in London.
The first three fights have been announced for what should end up being one of the most exciting shows in Bellator MMA history.
JUST ANNOUNCED!
London set to host historic #Bellator200 on May 25th! 🇬🇧
The first two fights, features @mousasi_mma challenging @RafaCarvalhoMMA for the middleweight title & @Michaelpage247 will clash with @TheCaveman316 from @ssearena.
Read more: https://t.co/ouSvVnooGt pic.twitter.com/BpyN0tL5nP— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 26, 2018
Rafael Carvalho (15-1) vs. Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2)
Carvalho enters the biggest fight of his career having won 15-straight after losing his professional debut in 2011. He became middleweight champion in 2015 and has since defended it three times. Two of those being via vicious knockout against Italian hero Alessio Sakara and combat sports legend Melvin Manhoef.
Mousasi left the UFC in 2017 after winning five-straight fights in the promotion, including stoppage victories over Chris Weidman, Uriah Hall, Thiago Santos, and Vitor Belfort. He made his Bellator MMA debut in October of last year, earning a very hard-fought and somewhat controversial decision win over former champion Alexander Shlemenko.
Michael Page (12-0) vs. David Rickels (19-4, 2NC)
Page returns to Bellator after starting a boxing career in 2017 under David Hayes’ Hayemaker Promotions banner. He made his boxing debut in October of 2017, knocking out Jonathan Castano. After scoring one of the best knockouts of 2016 against Evangelista Santos, Page faced grizzled veteran Fernando Gonzalez in November of that same year. He won via controversial split decision in what was his toughest fight to date.
Competing exclusively for Bellator MMA since 2011, David “Caveman” Rickels returns to action in London having won two-straight fights. After recording a stoppage victory over Aaron Derrow in January of 2017, Rickels returned in December and defeated Adam Piccolotti via hard-fought unanimous decision.
Phil Davis (18-4, 1NC) vs. Linton Vassell (19-6, 1NC)
Upon signing with the Bellator in 2015, Phil Davis competed in their first ever one-night tournament. After defeating Emanuel Newton and Francis Carmont on the same night, Davis returned a year later and defeated “King Mo”. He was then given a title shot against then-champion Liam McGeary, dominating him en route to another unanimous decision. He lost the title quickly, however, losing to Ryan Bader at Bellator 182 in NYC. The former champ returned in November of 2017 and spoiled the debut on Brazil’s Leo Leite.
At Bellator 186, the same card in which Davis defeated Leite, Linton Vassell challenged Ryan Bader for the light heavyweight championship. He was overpowered by Bader and stopped in the second round. Prior to this, Vassell had won three-straight, submitting Liam McGeary and picking up unanimous decision wins over Emanuel Newton and Francis Carmont.
Bellator 200 will take place at The SSE Arena in London, England on May 25. More bouts should be announced in the coming days for what is set to be a landmark show for Bellator MMA.
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Photo via Bellator MMA
