Belfast native Karl Moore will challenge for the promotion’s vacant light heavyweight title in March, it has been reported.
The March 22 event in Northern Ireland will be the organisation’s first event since its purchase by the PFL last year and will feature Moore facing off with Corey Anderson for the title recently vacated by Vadim Nemkov, who has moved north the heavyweight fold. A venue has yet to be confirmed but it stands to reason that the SSE Arena, which has a capacity of above 10,000, would be the likely choice. Ariel Helwani was the first to report the news.
The event will be the first Bellator card held in Belfast since a February 2017 show headlined by the former light heavyweight champion, Liam McGeary, who took on Brett McDermott in a catchweight bout after original opponent Chris Fields withdrew due to injury.
Anderson, a former UFC fighter, is 17-6 in his professional career and was most recently seen winning a split decision against Phil Davis last summer. The bout will be his third shot at the Bellator 205-pound title in his last four fights, after a no-contest and a defeat to Nemkov — both occurring in 2022.
Moore, meanwhile, is a former Cage Warriors heavyweight champion and has won each his last four bouts (12-2 overall), including an impressive finish of the experienced Karl Albrektsson in Dublin in September 2022.
