Bellator will return to Dublin's 3Arena later this year, with both Peter Queally and Sinead Kavanagh to enjoy another homecoming show.
The American MMA promotion will return to the Emerald Isle on September 23 for their latest European event; their third since coronavirus restrictions began to lift in October of last year. Neither Queally or Kavanagh have an opponent booked, but they are both expected to face ranked contenders given their respective last fights, reports Mirror Fighting.
Kavanagh defeated Leah McCourt in an all-Irish co-main event at Bellator 275 back in February, and is expected to be just one more win away from a world featherweight title rematch with Cris Cyborg. Meanwhile, Queally was forced off that card with injury and is currently recovering from surgery on his shoulder and foot after last fighting at the venue for the lightweight title against Patricky 'Pitbull' Freire.
Speaking to Mirror Fighting ahead of his return to the cage, No.5-ranked Queally said: "I can't wait, I've had a bit of a bad run of it but I'm hungry to get back in now. I feel reborn after getting these few bits and pieces sorted - in a few months' time I'm going to be very healthy and feeling good again with my body so I can't wait to have a training camp where I can actually push it to the limit."
Queally was supposed to face Brit Kane Mousah earlier this year, but expects to face somebody in the top 10 when the promotion returns, with the shortlist of opponents narrowed to a couple of names. "The plan was to fight Kane and then fight a ranked guy at the end of the year, now I just want to fight a ranked guy," he added.
"That would have been a fun fight, I guess, but it didn't really mean anything for my career, maybe it did for his but not for me, and now I want to plow on with the original plan of fighting a ranked opponent in September, which was always the plan."
He is eyeing up an eventual lightweight title trilogy with 'Pitbull' with the score between the two set at 1-1 after they each stopped one another last year. "That is still the goal," Queally insisted. "This fight in September will put me right back in the mix for that.
"At the most, I'll be one more win away, maybe no wins away and this fight will get me back in the mix. That's always been the plan, it's 1-1, I know I can beat him, he beat me which was good for him. Both of our fights were good fights and I'm very excited to just get in and fight him again, even if it's not for the belt I'd love to fight him again down the line."
And Kavanagh, whose win over McCourt has put her within touching distance of another title opportunity, added: "It's going to be amazing. I haven't got one loss yet in the 3Arena so it's going to stand towards me. It's great to get in front of the fans again and feel that roar and everything. We have the best fans in the world here in Ireland and Bellator loves it, they love the Irish fans."
The former amateur boxer made the move to MMA in the 2010s after struggling to find opportunity in the squared circle. And she has since become a massive name in Bellator, with her fight against McCourt marking a major homecoming after five years away from the Irish capital.
"It meant the world to me," she said of the crowd reaction to her win. "I've put my life on the line for this sport and to get that moment was great and you realise it's all worthwhile, all those years, all that dedication and then to be able to get that moment. I knew the fans were interested in my fighting because I always bring it to the table."
Tickets for BELLATOR DUBLIN go on sale Friday, March 25 , and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com .
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
