LOS ANGELES – Bellator is hosting a lightweight grand prix this year, and for the first time Friday, the promotion brought all eight participants together for a news conference, followed by faceoffs.
The tournament kicks off March 10 at Bellator 292 in San Jose, Calif., where champion Usman Nurmagomedov (16-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) defends the title against Benson Henderson (30-11MMA, 7-6 BMMA) in a quarterfinal. Also that night, Tofiq Musayev (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets Alexander Shabliy (22-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).
On May 12 at Bellator Paris, Mansour Barnaoui (20-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take on Sidney Outlaw (16-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in a quarterfinal. The remaining quarterfinal between A.J. McKee (20-1MMA, 20-1 BMMA) and Patricky Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) has yet to be booked for an event date and location.
In the video above, you can watch all the opponents come face to face.
