5 questions that could be answered at Bellator 277
Bellator returns with an exciting event this Friday night. San Jose, California, will be the sight of the light heavyweight Grand Prix finals and a highly-anticipated rematch. Scott Coker is no stranger to hosting big events in San Jose. The city and HP Pavilion, in particular, have been synonymous with Coker’s promotions.
Featherweight champion A.J. McKee will make his first title defense when he takes on former champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire. The clash will be a rematch of last year’s featherweight Grand Prix final, which saw McKee submit Freire to become the new champion.
The light heavyweight Grand Prix will see reigning light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov take on TUF season 19 winner Corey Anderson. Both fighters have been impressive throughout the tournament, with the champion even overcoming adversity in his semifinal win over Julius Anglickas.
In this list, we look at five questions that could be answered at Bellator 277.
#5. Will Rafael Carvalho snap his losing skid?
Bellator 277: Ex-champ Rafael Carvalho swaps in for Johnson vs. Yagshimuradov #bellator #Bellator277 tinyurl.com/mryndv5n https://t.co/lwk3qB3O8Z
Former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho is at a crossroads in his career. He is on a three-fight losing skid and is 1-4 in his last five fights.
Following his unanimous decision loss to Alex Polizzi in 2020, Carvalho was released by the promotion. However, he was given another chance last year when he replaced Costello can Steenis for a bout with Lorenz Larkin. It was great effort, especially considering he accepted the fight on six days' notice. He came out on the losing end once again, though, as the judges awarded Larkin the split decision.
It seems as though the promotion is repaying him for his performance on short notice by giving him another opportunity. It will be a tough task as he’ll be fighting Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov, who is in a similar situation. He was defeated by Corey Anderson via TKO in the opening round of the light heavyweight Grand Prix. He then lost a unanimous decision to Karl Albrektsson last October.