Sources -- Anderson, Moore to vie for Bellator 205-lb title

Sources — Anderson, Moore to vie for Bellator 205-lb title

admin31 January 2024Last Update : 5 months ago

Sources — Anderson, Moore to vie for Bellator 205-lb title،

Marc Raimondi, ESPN editorJanuary 30, 2024, 8:15 p.m.

Former UFC veteran Corey Anderson will face Karl Moore for the vacant Bellator light heavyweight title on March 22 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani was the first to break the news.

The March 22 card will be the first Bellator-branded event since PFL acquired the promotion in late 2023. Booking a fight for a vacant Bellator belt indicates that PFL plans to preserve Bellator championships in the future.

Vadim Nemkov vacated the Bellator light heavyweight title earlier this month as he moves up to heavyweight. Nemkov will face former PFL heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza on the PFL vs. Bellator: Champs card on February 24 in Saudi Arabia.

ESPN places Anderson at No. 6 in the world at light heavyweight. Nemkov is #5.

Anderson (17-6, 1 NC) is coming off a split decision victory over former champion Phil Davis in June 2023. The Illinois native lost to Nemkov, but also a no-contest (accidental headbutt ) in a fight that he won. . Anderson, 34, is 4-1 (1 NC) since leaving the UFC in 2020.

Moore (12-2) is 4-0 in Bellator. The 32-year-old Irish native is a former Cage Warriors light heavyweight champion.