This Thursday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut comes another edition of Bellator MMA. With the main card of three bouts, the main event pits defending Welterweight World Champion Douglas “Phenom” Lima (32-7 MMA, 14-3 BMMA) against former Bellator Middleweight World Champion Gegard Mousasi (46-7-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA). The vacant title is up for grabs due to Rafael Lovato Jr. forfeiting the strap after suffering from a cerebral cavernoma, a benign tumor, where a series of blood vessels form a lesion, which is an abnormal change or damage in the tissue.
We've got a #SuperFight coming your way this Thursday, October 2️⃣9️⃣th, LIVE & FREE on @CBSSportsNet!
Don't miss @PhenomLima vs. @Mousasi_MMA in the #Bellator250 main event! pic.twitter.com/1XOhQ5WfSH
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 27, 2020
Lima won the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix by submitting Andrey Koreshkov, knocking out Michael “Venom” Page, and avenging a previous loss to Rory McDonald by unanimous decision in the very venue that he will defend his championship in back around this time last year on October 26th, 2019. This will be Lima’s 40th MMA bout.
Oct26.2019
Douglas Lima avenges his loss to Rory MacDonald,
and wins Bellator Welterweight title along with $1 Million pic.twitter.com/PbupCWV4rY
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) October 26, 2020
Mousasi will enter his 56th bout coming off a split decision victory over Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida last September, avenging his loss to him back when he fought in the UFC. He has won three of his last four fights since defeating Rafael Carvalho to become the Middleweight World Champion back in May 2018.
The co-main event includes a featherweight bout between Brandon Girtz (16-9, 8-7 BMMA) going up against Henry Corrales (17-5 MMA, 5-5 BMMA). Girtz is looking to get back on track with a victory after falling to Myles Jury by unanimous decision at Bellator 239 back in February while Corrales looks to stop a two-fight losing streak to Marion Caldwell and Juan Archuleta, both also by unanimous decision.
In women’s flyweight competition, Veta Arteaga (5-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) looks to build her Bellator MMA record back above .500 when she faces Desiree Yanez (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who makes her Bellator MMA debut in the Nutmeg State.
Bellator MMA 250 will air Thursday night on the CBS Sports Network at 8 PM ET with preliminary matchups beginning at 5:15 PM ET.