A promotional mainstay makes his return in St. Charles, Missouri!
Bellator has announced that Zach Freeman will no longer be facing Zak Bucia at Bellator 197, and in his place steps Derek “The Barbaric” Anderson.
ST. LOUIS SHAKEUP!
Fight card update: @DerekBarbaric steps in to take on @Zakcrashbucia in #StLouis for #Bellator197!
?️ https://t.co/L4KhiEfAkT pic.twitter.com/clc1kLhH1b
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) March 17, 2018
Fighting out of San Diego, Derek Anderson (14-3, 1NC) enters Missouri having not fought since January of 2017. Anderson lost the aforementioned fight via unanimous decision following a fight of the year contender vs. Derek Campos.
Two fights fell through for Anderson in 2017, however. A welterweight move was planned for May of last year where he would take on Michael “Venom” Page, but Page, unfortunately, was forced to pull out due to a knee injury. He was then slated to return in December against Adam Piccolotti, this time it was Anderson who was forced out of the contest.
After a 2-1 run with Titan FC that saw him pick up stoppage victories over Jose Landi-Jons and Rasul Shovhalov, Zak “Crash” Bucia (19-8) returned to Missouri-based Shamrock FC. When there, he earned the welterweight title and picked up a notable victory over Strikeforce and UFC veteran; Bobby Voelker.
Bucia made his Bellator MMA debut back in October of 2017. He was submitted by Neiman Gracie at Bellator 185. Now, he returns six months later looking to get back on track. But in front of him will be a Bellator mainstay in the form of Derek Anderson.
Bellator 197 is slated for April 13, live from The Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri.
The main event features a lightweight title rematch between Brent Primus and Michael Chandler. Check out the full card – as it stands right now – below.
Brent Primus vs. Michael Chandler
AJ McKee vs. Justin Lawrence
Kevin Ferguson Jr. vs. Devon Brock
Logan Storley vs. Joaquin Buckley
Derek Anderson vs. Zak Bucia
Rebecca Ruth vs. Juliana Velasquez
Josh Sampo vs. Dominic Mazzotta
Jordan Dowdy vs. Jeff Crotty
Adam Cella vs. Dewayne Diggs
Joe Roye vs. Cort Wahle
Justin Robbins vs. AJ Siscoe
Jordan Howard vs. Eric Ellington
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