The first Bellator card under the leadership of the Professional Fighters League will emanate from the SSE Arena in Dublin. Bellator 302 features two top-tier championship fights.
The main event will be Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore for the vacant Bellator light heavyweight title. Vadim Nemkov relinquished the title to pursue a run at heavyweight.
Anderson (17-6, 1NC) turned pro in 2013. “Overtime” won The Ultimate Fighter 19 Light Heavyweight Tournament in 2014. While with the UFC, he won ten fights but lost out on a title shot following a vicious knockout loss in 2020 against Jan Blachowicz. The 34-year-old signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator and is 4-1 with the promotion with one no-contest to his name. After losing against Nemkov for gold, Anderson returned in June, beating Phil Davis via decision.
Moore (12-2) turned pro in 2011. The former Cage Warriors Heavyweight Champion joined Bellator in 2019 and has won four straight with the promotion. He last fought in June 2023, beating Alex Polizzi.
WATCH: Bellator 302: Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore, live on DAZN in the U.K.
The co-main event will be Patricio Freire defending the Bellator featherweight title against Jeremy Kennedy. It replaced the nixed Sinead Kavanagh vs. Leah McCourt fight, giving the card a boost in star power via a champion.
Freire (35-7) made his pro debut at 16 in 2004.“Pitbull” joined Bellator in 2010 and has amassed a 22-6 record in Bellator-sanctioned fights, holding the record for most wins (22) in Bellator history. A multi-time tournament winner, Freire, captured the Bellator featherweight title against Pat Curran in 2014, lost it in 2015, and regained the crown in 2017. Already featherweight champion, he beat Michael Chandler in 2019 for the Bellator lightweight title.
Defending the Bellator featherweight title in the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix, Freire went 3-0 before losing the title to A.J. McKee in the finals in 2021. Relinquishing the lightweight title to focus on regaining the featherweight belt, Freire beat McKee to become champion again. He has since gone 1-2, his last contest being a knockout loss to Chihiro Suzuki in July.
Kennedy (19-3, 1NC) turned pro in 2013. The 32-year-old fought for the UFC and the PFL before joining Bellator in 2020. He has won three straight with the promotion, his last contest being a win against Pedro Carvalho in February 2023.
The Sporting News provides all you need to know about the event, from time, channel and more.
Bellator 302 airs on March 22. The prelims air at 5 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET), with the main card starting at 7 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET).
Anderson and Moore should make their way to the cage around 11 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET), depending on how long the undercard fights last.
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In the U.S., Bellator 302 will be on HBO MAX. In the U.K., Bellator 302 airs on DAZN.
WATCH: Bellator 302: Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore, live on DAZN in the U.K.
Bellator 302 is in the SSE Arena in Belfast. The arena can hold up to 11,000+ people.
Per Bet MGM:
Main card
Prelims