Bellator Returns Friday With Gegard Mousasi In Main Event

Bellator returns this week with Gegard Mousasi defending his title.

Mousasi meets top contender Johnny Eblen in the main event of Bellator 282 from the Mohegan Sun Arena. The middleweight title fight headlines the Uncasville, Connecticut Showtime card.

Along with Mousasi vs. Eblen, Leandro Higo meets Danny Sabatello and Magomed Magomedov faces Enrique Barzola in the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix.

For the 36-year-old Mousasi, this could be a magical event. He currently sits at 49 career wins, with a triumph over Eblen marking an even 50 for his career.

Mousasi has won each of his last four, with back-to-back finishes to defend his title. Those wins have come against Austin Vanderford and John Salter.

Twenty-eight of the 49 wins have been knockouts, with 12 more by way of submission. He has also topped the likes of Douglas Lima, Lyoto Machida and Rory MacDonald since joining Bellator.

Mousasi’s first pro fight came all the way back in 2003 when he stopped Daniel Spek in the first round. He won the Cage Warriors title in 2006 and the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix two years later.

That also came with the inaugural DREAM middleweight title. The Strikeforce title was added to his resume in 2009 and the DREAM light heavyweight title and grand prix a year later.

Despite wins over Chris Weidman, Vitor Belort and Dan Henderson in the UFC, Mousasi never fought for the belt there.

He signed with Bellator in 2017 and won the title for the first time shortly after with a finish of Rafael Carvalho.