Bellator 272: The Line Up

Bellator will have its final show of the season as Bellator 272 will be available on Showtime on December 3rd. The promotion will return to their make-shift pandemic home as the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut will host Sergio Pettis defending his bantamweight title against Kyoji Horiguchi. After winning the title back in May, Sergio is looking to legitimize his status amongst the bantamweight elite by defeating Horiguchi, who vacated that title back in 2019. Bellator 272 will feature a four fight main card, with 13 fights total on the night. Here’s the line up:

Main Card:

(C) Sergio Pettis (21-5) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (29-3)

Sergio Pettis will look to make the first defense of his Bellator Bantamweight title when he takes on former Bellator Bantamweight Champion and current Rizin Bantamweight Champion Kyoji Horiguchi. Following his unceremonial departure from the UFC two years ago, Sergio has gone undefeated since joining Bellator, and is currently on a four fight win streak. This will be his third straight main event booking, and his first fight with a live crowd since he first debuted with the promotion. Across the cage, Kyoji Horiguchi will be fighting for redemption. Horiguchi vacated the Bellator Bantamweight title back in November of 2019 due to injury. Over a year later, he would return to MMA and win the Rizin bantamweight title via TKO in the first round. Now, he has become a Bellator contracted fighter and is back to reclaim the throne he previously relinquished. Many (including both these athletes) believe that since Kyoji is returning and since the title has changed hands twice since his departure, that this fight will determine the true bantamweight champion for Bellator (even though Sergio Pettis is recognized as the undisputed champion by the promotion). This main event is set to be a bar-burner, as both their styles make for an action-packed match up.

#4 Emmanuel Sanchez (20-6) vs #9 Jeremy Kennedy (16-3)

The co-main event of Bellator 272 will feature Jeremy Kennedy taking on Bellator veteran Emmanuel Sanchez. After leaving the UFC due to a loss at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski in 2018, Jeremy has fought in Brave CF, the PFL and now Bellator. Coming off of a decision loss back in April, Kennedy is looking to make a statement in a high profile fight to end the year and improve his Bellator record to above .500. Across the cage, Emmanuel Sanchez will attempt to earn his first win since this time last year. He has been defeated twice this year, most notably in his rematch against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire back in April. As a fellow Roufusport teammate to Sergio Pettis, Duke Roufus will have his hands full on Friday night as he will have to corner both the main and co-main event.

#5 Johnny Eblen (9-0) vs Collin Huckbody (9-3)

Johnny “Diamond Hands” Eblen will put his undefeated record on the line when he takes on Collin Huckbody. Eblen has made great strides since making his Bellator debut back in 2019, posting a perfect 5-0 record within the promotion. Clearly striving to remain active, this will be his third fight in just seven months. The American Top Team product is known as a fast starter, as all five of his finishes have occurred within the first three minutes of the fight. Huckbody will be making his promotional debut coming off of a main event victory over Nick Kraus in Art of Scrap. You may remember Collin from his first round arm-triangle choke victory on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2020. He was not offered a UFC contract for his efforts.

Jay Jay Wilson (8-0) vs Alfie Davis (14-4)

Jay Jay Wilson will also put his undefeated record on the line as he opens up the main card in his bout against Alfie Davis. Fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand, the 24 year-old has finished 7 of his 8 victories. Five of those finishes occurred before the 2:00 mark of the first round. London’s own Alfie Davis will look to bounce back after his first Bellator loss came back in May of this year against Alexander Shabliy, who is featured on the preliminary card. Alfie has never been finished in 18 professional bouts.

Preliminary Card:

#10 Oliver Enkamp (10-2) vs Kyle Crutchmer (7-1)

The featured preliminary bout for Bellator 272 will feature Oliver Enkamp facing off against Kyle Crutchmer. Oliver is riding the momentum of a three fight win streak that features all first round finishes. Most notably, he is coming off of victories via a Japanese necktie submission and a spinning back fist KO. His only two losses have come under the UFC banner and he has gone undefeated since joining Bellator in 2019. His opponent, Kyle Crutchmer, will be facing a 4 inch height disadvantage in his second fight this year. Representing the American Kickboxing Academy, Kyle has never been finished through 8 professional fights and is coming off of a decision victory over Levan Chokheli back in June.

#7 Josh Hill (20-4) vs Jared Scoggins (10-1)

Josh Hill will take on Jared Scoggins in a bantamweight bout. As a true veteran of the sport, Hill made his debut back in 2009 and has 26 fights in that period (including pro exhibition bouts). You may remember him from his brief stint on The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 where he earned a victory over Dubliner Patrick Holohan. Across the cage, Jared Scoggins will make his promotional debut while being nearly ten years younger than his opponent. “Psycho” Scoggins is riding the momentum of a five fight win streak across four different promotions. 

Levan Chokheli (9-1) vs Vinicius de Jesus (9-4)

Levan Chokeli will face off against Vinicius de Jesus in a welterweight bout. Levan suffered the first loss of his professional career back in June, after losing all three rounds on the judge’s scorecards to Kyle Crutchmer. However, the Georgian fighter has earned all 9 of his victories by TKO. At just 25 years old, it’s clear that Chokheli still has much room to grow, although his ceiling is particularly high. “The Brazilian Bad Boy” Vinicius de Jesus also lost all three rounds on the judge’s score cards in his last fight. In what is now his second stint with Bellator, the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu fighter is facing an opponent with undeniable punching power. Inversely, Vinicius has never been finished in 13 professional fights. 

Dan Moret (15-6) vs Spike Carlyle (12-3)

Dan Moret will take on last minute replacement Spike Carlyle. Dan’s brief UFC run saw him go without a win in 3 fights until he was released in 2019. Since then he is on a two fight win streak. Moret was originally supposed to face Ricardo Seixas, until he pulled out due to unknown reasons. A lot of credit should be going to Spike Carlyle, who has accepted this fight on just one week’s notice. Spike also had a three fight run in the UFC just last year but has since earned 3 straight finish victories in LFA, Golden Boy Promotions, and Cage Warriors. Since this is a short notice fight, it will take place at 160 lbs.

Justin Montalvo (3-0) vs Jacob Bohn (9-7)

Undefeated fighter Justin Montalvo will face off against Jacob Bohn. Montalvo will be making his Bellator debut this Friday in his third fight of the year. All three of his professional victories have come by KO. It’s important to note that Justin has never seen the third round in his professional career. Also making his Bellator debut is Justin’s opponent, Jacob Bohn. “Jaguar” Bohn has been fighting professionally for over 7 years now and has not competed in over two years. With that being said, the New York native has earned stoppage victories in his last two fights.

Killys Mota (12-2) vs Mike Hamel (8-5)

Killys Mota will take on Mike Hamel in a lightweight bout. Mota will enjoy home advantage as the Brazilian trains out of Teixeira MMA & Fitness in Bethel, Connecticut alongside the new UFC Light Heavyweight champion. This fight will end a year long layoff for Killys as he’s coming off of a soccer kick KO loss. Both of his professional defeats have come via KO. Following a dominant decision victory, Mike Hamel is looking to even up his Bellator record with his second straight win. The Arizonan fights out of the MMA Lab, training alongside UFC standouts Jared Cannonier, Sean O’Malley, and Alex Caceres. 

Alexander Shabliy (20-3) vs Bobby King (10-3)

Alexander Shabliy will take on Bobby King in a lightweight bout. Shabily is the lone Russian fighter on this card and he is coming off of a decision win over Alfie Davis. He is riding the momentum of a five fight win streak, and has finished 17 of his 20 victories. Across the cage, Utah native Bobby King is also coming off of a decision victory in his Bellator debut. King is 9 years older than Shabliy, yet he has ten fewer fights. King is known for his dangerous jiu-jitsu abilities as half of his victories have come by submission. 

John de Jesus (14-9) vs Kai Kamaka III (8-4-1)

John de Jesus will face off against Kai Kamaka III in a featherweight fight. De Jesus has gone 2-1 under the Bellator banner with his only loss coming via KO to Aaron Pico. John will also look to make use of his 3” height advantage on Friday night. His opponent, Kai Kamaka III has not earned a victory in his last three fights, which were all in the UFC. He most recently fought to a draw in July and was subsequently cut from the promotion. Now, “The Fighting Hawaiian” will look to make Bellator his new home in his promotional debut. 

Jornel Lugo (7-0) vs Tommy Espinosa (6-3)

Jornel Lugo and Tommy Espinosa will open up the preliminary card for Bellator 272. Jornel “A1” Lugo  is an undefeated mixed martial artist fighting out of American Top Team Palm Beach. Since joining Bellator one year ago, Lugo has earned three straight victories, most recently by technical submission in August. Tommy Espinosa is on a two fight losing skid, including a TKO loss back in May. The New Jersey native’s last win was his singular Bellator fight back in 2018, which he ended via arm bar. Now back with the promotion, he has been given a tough match up against the undefeated Jornel Lugo.