Tofiq Musayev may have to delay his Bellator debut.
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck has confirmed that Musayev, a former RIZIN lightweight champion and winner over Patricky Pitbull, will not be competing against Zach Zane in the preliminary section of Bellator 278. This Friday at Honolulu. Zane was forced off the card due to undisclosed reasons.
Musayev is waiting for a replacement, MMA Fighting learned.
Musayev (18-4) parted ways with RIZIN after losing the lightweight championship to Roberto Satoshi in June 2021, putting a stop to a 14-fight winning streak that included victories over the likes of Pitbull, Johnny Case, Damien Brown and Daron Cruickshank in Japan.
Bellator hosts two events in Hawaii this weekend. The first leg of the doubleheader will be headlined by flyweight champion Juliana Velasquez versus Liz Carmouche, while Cris Cyborg defends her featherweight throne 24 hours later in a rematch with Arlene Blencowe. The co-main event of Bellator 279 sees Juan Archuleta and Raufeon Stots battling for the interim bantamweight strap.
Below is the updated Bellator 278 Card.
Main card
Juliana Velasquez vs. Liz Carmouche
Enrique Barzola vs. Nikita Mikhailov
Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello
Christian Edwards vs. Grant Neal
Manny Muro vs. Nate Andrews
Preliminary card
Weber Almeida vs. Fabricio Franco
Erik Perez vs. Cee Jay Hamilton
Dante Schiro vs. Scotty Hao
Makoa Cooper vs. Blake Perry
