Bellator 280: Bader vs. Kongo 2 (also known as Bellator Paris) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that will take place on May 6, 2022, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France.
Fight Card
Main Card (Showtime)
Heavyweight Ryan Bader (c) vs. Cheick Kongo Heavyweight Championship
Light Heavyweight Yoel Romero vs. Alex Polizzi
Lightweight Davy Gallon vs. Benjamin Brander
Middleweight Lorenz Larkin vs. Kyle Stewart
Middleweight Mike Shipman vs. Gregory Babene
Preliminary Card (Youtube/Pluto TV)
Featherweight Pedro Carvalho vs. Piotr Niedzielski
Welterweight Lewis Long vs. Thibault Gouti
Featherweight Fabacary Diatta vs. Jordan Barton
Catchweight (160 lb) Søren Bak vs. Charlie Leary
Lightweight Yves Landu vs. Gavin Hughes
Women's Flyweight Lucie Bertaud vs. Katarzyna Sadura
Middleweight Youcef Ouabbas vs. Matthieu Duclos
Welterweight Victor Verchere vs. Bourama Camara
Background
After successfully defending his Bellator Heavyweight Title over interim champion Valentin Moldavsky, Ryan Bader is making a quick turnaround and facing Cheick Kongo in his second defense in a rematch from their 2019 title bout at Bellator 226. That bout ended due to an accidental poke to Kongo's left eye in the opening round, resulting in a no contest.
A featherweight bout between Pedro Carvalho and Khasan Askhabov was scheduled for this event. However, due to undisclosed reasons, Askhabov was forced to pull out and was replaced by promotional newcomer Piotr Niedzielski.
A bout between Melvin Manhoef and Yoel Romero was scheduled to be the co-main event. However, Manhoef withdrew from the bout due to a hand injury while stopping burglars and was replaced by Alex Polizzi.
A middleweight bout between Lorenz Larkin and Khalid Murtazaliev was scheduled for this event. However at the end of March, Murtazaliev pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Anthony Adams. Adams in turn pulled out as well and was replaced by UFC vet Kyle Stewart.
A heavyweight bout between Davion Franklin and Daniel James was planned for the event. However, James failed an out of competition drug test and was pulled from the bout.
A lightweight bout between Søren Bak and Saul Rogers was scheduled for this event. Due to Rogers pulling out of the bout on two weeks notice, Bak was rescheduled against Charlie Leary in a 160 lb catchweight bout.
A welterweight bout between Nicolò Solli and Joël Kouadja was scheduled for the event, however the French Athletics Commission scrapped the initial bout and Kouadja's replacement, Levy Carriel, tested positive for COVID 5 days before the event.
