Bellator 194 is set to take place on Friday, February 16, 2018, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The preliminary card will air online at 7:00 pm EST while the main card will air on Paramount Network at 9:00 PM EST.
Bellator MMA is finally going to crown its new heavyweight champion, which has been expected for some time, and promotion is bringing back a tournament to find their heavyweight champion in 2018.
The promotion will host an eight-man heavyweight tournament known as the Bellator MMA World Grand Prix 2018. The winner of this tournament will earn the vacant Bellator title.
Bellator has been without a heavyweight champion since the title was vacated by then-champ Vitaly Minakov after Bellator decided to strip him of it in May of 2016 for failing to defend the title.
Matt Mitrione vs. Roy Nelson in a Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarter Final bout will serve as the main event while Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Derek Campos in a lightweight bout will be the co-main event.
Rounding out this five bout card is Liam McGeary vs. Vadim Nemkov in a light heavyweight bout, Heather Hardy vs. Ana Julaton in a women’s flyweight bout, and Tywan Claxton vs. Jose Antonio Perez in a featherweight bout.
Here is the final Bellator 194 card for the event:
MAIN CARD (Paramount Network/9 p.m. ET)
Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Matt Mitrione vs. Roy Nelson
Lightweight: Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Derek Campos
Light Heavyweight: Liam McGeary vs. Vadim Nemkov
Female Flyweight: Heather Hardy vs. Ana Julaton
Featherweight: Tywan Claxton vs. Jose Antonio Perez
PRELIMINARY CARD (Online)
Lightweight: Marcus Surin vs. Dean Hancock
Lightweight: Andre Fialho vs. Nick Guiletti
Catchweight: Peter Nascimento vs. Kastriot Xhema
Featherweight: Regivaldo Carvalho vs. Tom English
Lightweight: Tyler Hamilton vs. Pat Casey
Welterweight: Vinicius de Jesus vs. Jesse McElligott
Bantamweight: Mike Kimbel vs. Geoffrey Then