Bellator 277: McKee vs. Pitbull 2 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that will take place on April 15, 2022, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, United States.
Fight Card
Main Card (Showtime)
Featherweight A. J. McKee (c) vs Patrício Pitbull Featherweight Championship
Light Heavyweight Vadim Nemkov (c) vs. Corey Anderson Light Heavyweight Tournament Final
Featherweight Aaron Pico vs Adli Edwards
Heavyweight Timothy Johnson vs. Linton Vassell
Preliminary Card (Youtube/Pluto TV)
Heavyweight Tyrell Fortune vs. Rakim Cleveland
Light Heavyweight Rafael Carvalho vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
Catchweight (140 lb) Gaston Bolanos vs. Daniel Carey
Welterweight Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo
Bantamweight Bobby Seronio III vs. Calob Ramirez
Welterweight Rhalan Gracie vs. Tyson Miller
Flyweight Edwin De Los Santos vs. Alberto Mendez
Featherweight Socrates Hernandez vs. Rogelio Luna
Featherweight Laird Anderson vs. JT Donaldson
Light Heavyweight Theo Haig vs. Alan Benson
Background
The event will be headlined by a rematch between Bellator Featherweight Champion A. J. McKee and Patrício Pitbull. The duo previously fought in the Bellator 263 main event, where McKee took Pitbull's title in the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix final via a first-round guillotine choke submission.
The co-main event will feature the final of the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament as Bellator Light Heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov will take on Corey Anderson for the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship as well as the $1 million prize. Nemkov, on the way to the final, defeated Phil Davis via a unanimous decision and secured a fourth-round kimura stoppage against Julius Anglickas. On the other side of the bracket, Anderson defeated both Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov and Ryan Bader by TKO.
A heavyweight bout between Timothy Johnson and Tyrell Fortune was scheduled for the event. However, on March 1, 2022, it was announced by Bellator that Johnson was expected to face Linton Vassell and Fortune was set to meet Steve Mowry in the event. In turn, Mowry pulled out of the bout in late March and was replaced by Rakim Cleveland.
A middleweight bout between Pat Downey and Daniel Compton was scheduled for this event. However, after developing Red skin syndrome, Downey was forced to pull out of the bout.
A light heavyweight bout between Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov and Tony Johnson was scheduled for the event. However, due to an injury, Johnson was forced to pull out and was replaced by former Bellator Middleweight Champion Rafael Carvalho.
A featherweight bout between Aaron Pico and Jeremy Kennedy was expected to take place at the event. However, Kennedy withdrew 8 days before the event and Adli Edwards replaced him.