NO. 5 RANKED SINEAD KAVANAGH MEETS NO. 4 RANKED LEAH ‘THE CURSE’ MCCOURT IN HUGE FEATHERWEIGHT CONTEST AT BELLATOR 275: MOUSASI VS. VANDERFORD

DUBLIN’S 3ARENA PLAYS HOST TO MASSIVE CARD ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25

DUBLIN – Leading mixed martial arts promotion BELLATOR MMA has today added a number of explosive fights to BELLATOR 275: Mousasi vs. Vanderford, taking place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, on Friday, February 25. 

In what is set to be the biggest Irish female fight ever, a women’s featherweight bout between Northern Ireland’s Leah McCourt (6-1) and Ireland’s most-recent title challenger Sinead Kavanagh (7-5) is set to light up the main card. Plus, a bantamweight main card attraction between home favorite Brian Moore (14-8), whotakes on No. 9 ranked Jornel Lugo (7-0).

The promotion’s explosive return to the Irish capital for BELLATOR 275: Mousasi vs Vanderford, sees middleweight world champion Gegard Mousasi defend his crown against undefeated American Austin Vanderford. The co-main event sees Irish star Peter Queally return to action against Manchester, England’s Kane Mousah (13-4) in the lightweight division.

Broadcast details and additional fights are set to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased online from Ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com.

Sinead Kavanagh will be hoping to respond to a heartbreaking world title loss against Cyborg in her last outing in November at BELLATOR 271. A winner of her two previous BELLATOR outings before facing the pound-for-pound queen, Kavanagh will be looking to get back to her winning ways and live up to her “KO” moniker in front of the 3Arena crowd.

Currently riding a five-fight win streak, Northern Ireland’s McCourt returns to action following a dominant display in a unanimous decision victory against Jessica Borga during her last outing at BELLATOR 267 in October. Now sitting at No. 4 in BELLATOR’s featherweight rankings, a win at the expense of her opponent on Feb. 25 will go a long way towards moving “The Curse” one step closer to a BELLATOR world title shot against incumbent champion, Cris Cyborg.

Brian Moore’s long-awaited Dublin return will see the Wexford fighter go toe-to-toe with No. 9 ranked bantamweight Jornel Lugo. “The Pikeman” will be hoping the home support helps him hand Lugo his first professional defeat and in doing so climb into the official bantamweight rankings for the first time. Lugo has won all four of his bouts under the BELLATOR banner, including an emphatic first round submission win against Keith Lee at BELLATOR 265 earlier this year.

Several additions have been confirmed for the  preliminary card including a bantamweight bout between Welshman Brett Johns (17-3) and Khurshed Kakhorov (8-0). Johns makes his return to European soil looking to make a statement in a must-see match-up against the undefeated Kakhorov. MMA veteran Johns boasts an impressive 17 wins from his 20 professional fights, while Kakhorov has won each of his first eight bouts, including a dominant unanimous decision win in his BELLATOR debut against Jair Junior at BELLATOR 267 in October. 

England’s No. 5 ranked Fabian Edwards (9-2) is set to make his return to the cage in Dublin when he takes on Marian Dimitrov (10-2). “The Assassin” won his first nine professional fights and established himself as one of the rising stars in BELLATOR’s middleweight division. He will be looking to bounce back from a defeat in his last fight against Dublin title challenger Austin Vanderford at BELLATOR 259 in May.

Ireland’s Danni McCormack (5-0) returns to action fresh from her win at the 3Arena in November against Audrey Kerouche, when she faces Stephanie Page (5-3) in a strawweight bout. The preliminary card  also features a welterweight bout between Italian Stefano Paterno (13-4-1) and BELLATOR debutantLuca Poclit (6-1) and a featherweight fight between Wales’ Scott Pedersen (1-2) and Ireland’s Nathan Kelly (3-2).

Rounding out the additions to the preliminary card is a featherweight affair between up-and-coming Irishman Ciaran Clarke (4-0) and BELLATOR debutant Abou Tounkara (7-2).

Fans can see the updated card for BELLATOR 275: Mousasi vs Vanderford below:

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BELLATOR 275: MOUSASI VS. VANDERFORD MAIN CARD:

Middleweight World Title Main Event: #C-Gegard Mousasi (48-7, 2 NC) vs. #1-Austin Vanderford (11-0)

Lightweight Bout: #5-Peter Queally (13-6, 1 NC) vs. Kane Mousah (13-4)

Women’s Featherweight Bout: #5-Sinead Kavanagh (7-5)vs. #4–Leah McCourt (6-1)

Bantamweight Bout: Brian Moore (14-8) vs. #9-Jornel Lugo (7-0)

BELLATOR 275: MOUSASI VS. VANDERFORD PRELIMINARY CARD:

Bantamweight Bout: Brett Johns (17-3) vs. Khurshed Kakhorov (8-0)

Lightweight Bout: Charlie Leary (17-11-1) vs. Davy Gallon (19-7-2)

Featherweight Bout: Ciaran Clarke (4-0) vs. Abou Tounkara (7-2)

Middleweight Bout: #5-Fabian Edwards (9-2) vs. Marian Dimitrov (10-2)

Welterweight Bout: Stefano Paterno (13-4-1) vs. Luca Poclit (6-1)

Strawweight Bout: Danni McCormack (5-0) vs. Stephanie Page (5-3)

Lightweight Bout: Junior Morgan (3-0) vs. Darragh Kelly (Pro Debut)

Featherweight Bout: Scott Pedersen (1-2) vs. Nathan Kelly (3-2)

*Card subject to change.

Please visit Bellator.com for additional information.

Updated schedule of BELLATOR events

Sat. Jan. 29 // BELLATOR 273: Bader vs. Moldavsky // Footprint Center // Phoenix, AZ

Fri. Feb. 19 // BELLATOR 274: Gracie vs. Storley // Mohegan Sun Arena // Uncasville, CT

Fri. Feb. 25 // BELLATOR 275: Mousasi vs. Vanderford // 3Arena // Dublin, IRE