Sidney Outlaw took a risk staying on the Bellator 283 card when his lightweight title fight against Patricky Freire was canceled.
It’s safe to say that risk did not pay off. “Pitbull” Freire pulled out of the 155-pound title fight with an injury. But rather than wait for him to heal, Outlaw (16-5 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) remained on Friday’s card in Tacoma, Wash., in a co-main event slot against Tofiq Musayev (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).
Musayev, a former RIZIN lightweight champion, took Outlaw out with a 27-second knockout. Almost certainly, the loss put Outlaw’s title aspirations a lot deeper into the future. But the odds of a title bout for Musayev, who was making his Bellator debut, increased exponentially – especially considering he beat Freire at RIZIN 20 to win a single-night tournament.