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Bellator MMA will be wrapping up their 2021 event schedule on December 3rd, when they host Bellator 272.
Bellator 272 will take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and will air live on Showtime. The event will be headlined by the Bellator bantamweight championship bout between champion Sergio Pettis and RIZIN bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi.
Bellator has done a great job in promoting their homegrown prospects this year. This is refreshing because they’re showcasing fighters that could potentially become stars rather than promoting fighters who’ve had a UFC stint. In doing so, there could be a lot of exciting fights on the horizon.
Although Bellator is concluding their 2021 event schedule, there’s plenty of speculation about what the promotion has in store for 2022. Bellator President Scott Coker will likely have some announcements planned that’ll help the promotion gain interest heading into the new year.
The final event of 2021 could be the perfect time to announce what exciting fights could be on the horizon. This list will look at 5 things fans should keep an eye on at Bellator 272.
#5. Co-main event - Clarity with Bellator’s featherweight division
Kicking off this list of things fans should keep an eye on at Bellator 272 is clarity with Bellator’s featherweight division. The promotion’s 145lb division was on full display during last year’s Bellator World Grand Prix.
The tournament wrapped up this past July when A.J. McKee defeated longtime champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire to become the new champion. Since then, there’s been talk of a rematch between the two, but nothing has been announced. Prior to the Grand Prix, McKee let it be known that intends to move up to lightweight. So, the rematch would all depend on whether or not he wants to defend the title.
The promotion added a featherweight bout between fourth-ranked Emmanuel Sanchez and ninth-ranked Jeremy Kennedy to the event. The timing is interesting because it shows that Bellator may be looking at back-up plans for the division. Mads Burnell, who’s currently the second-ranked featherweight, is believed to be the next challenger for the featherweight championship after defeating Sanchez.
However, if McKee moves up to 155lbs, Burnell vs. former champion ‘Pitbull’ would make sense for the vacant title.
The timing of Sanchez vs. Kennedy is interesting because it provides the division with clarity. That wasn’t the case for the lightweight division, as then-champion 'Pitbull' defended the featherweight championship in the Grand Prix. An impressive win for Sanchez would keep him in the mix with Adam Borics and Aaron Pico for the next opportunity.
#4. Bellator touring plans for 2022
Even with a global pandemic, Bellator has held a few international events. It’s been a difficult time for many MMA promotions as they navigate around travel restrictions to put on fights. Bellator has hosted the majority of their events at the Mohegan Sun Arena since resuming their event schedule. They also had their first event in Paris, France, last year, which was a milestone for the promotion.
Since July, Bellator has begun hosting their events in other markets again, which has allowed it to return to a sense of normalcy. Bellator returned to The Forum in Inglewood, California for the finals of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix. In addition, the promotion has held domestic events in San Jose, California, Phoenix, Arizona, Hollywood, Florida and South Dakota, Bellator have also returned overseas with big events in London, England, Dublin, Ireland, and Moscow, Russia.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Bellator announces plans for any more international dates in 2022. If Michael ‘Venom’ Page receives the next title shot against Bellator welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov, perhaps that’s a bout they have planned for London, England.
#3. Bellator title fights planned for early 2022
With Bellator 272 wrapping up the promotion’s 2021 event schedule, they’ll most likely announce title fights they have planned for the first quarter of 2022. Based on the timing of when the title defenses took place, Bellator could be making a lot of title fights official for early 2022. Whatever current featherweight champion A.J. McKee does will be interesting and generate buzz in the MMA community.
The Bellator heavyweight championship bout between champion Ryan Bader and interim-champion Valentin Moldavsky could also be possible for early 2022. The bout will generate plenty of interest because of Bader’s history against Moldavsky’s teammates.
Bader won the Bellator heavyweight championship by defeating Fedor Emelianenko in the finals of the heavyweight Grand Prix. Team Fedor got revenge as Nemkov defeated Bader for the Bellator light heavyweight championship. Now, Bader sees himself going up against Team Fedor once again when he defends the heavyweight title against Moldavsky.
Another title fight that would make sense to announce on Bellator’s final event of 2021 is the Bellator light heavyweight championship bout. Current champion Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson are expected to meet in the finals of the Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix. The bout could be a massive headliner in early 2022 as one of the promotion’s top divisions determines the best 205-pounder.
#2. Confirmation and announcement of the Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix
Another thing fans should keep an eye on at Bellator 272 is whether the bantamweight Grand Prix will be made official. The promotion has invested heavily in the 135lb division, which has become one of their most exciting divisions. Scott Coker has hinted at a bantamweight Grand Prix, but hasn’t made an official announcement.
It’s understandable why he would refrain from doing so while the light heavyweight Grand Prix is ongoing. With the light heavyweight tournament expected to conclude in early 2022, Bellator 272 would be the perfect time to make it official. There’s plenty of depth in the division, so it’d be interesting to see who makes the cut and who could be on the outside looking in.
The bantamweight division has been talked about as a perfect division to hold a Grand Prix in. The main event could be an indicator that it’s in fact the plan. With that said, 2022 could be a massive year for the promotion's bantamweight division.
#1. Bellator 272 main event – champion vs. champion
Topping this list of what fans should keep an eye on at Bellator 272 is the main event. Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis will be making his first title defense when he takes on Kyoji Horiguchi, who makes his return to the promotion. Horiguchi is a former Bellator bantamweight champion and reigning RIZIN bantamweight champion. This is significant because it will see champions in two different promotions competing against one another.
Horiguchi is looking to reclaim the bantamweight championship he was forced to vacate after sustaining an injury in 2019. He has held the bantamweight titles of two promotions once before and will be looking to do so again.
Horiguchi’s quest to repeat history won’t be easy as Pettis is currently riding a four-fight winning streak. Pettis’ most recent win came against Juan Archuleta, who he defeated by unanimous decision to become the new champion. Pettis vs. Horiguchi could be a prelude to what fans can expect to see in the rumored bantamweight Grand Prix.
