Bellator’s final card of 2020 is eight days away – and the lineup continues to evolve.
Wednesday, a promotion official informed MMA Junkie of a change to the preliminary card. Tyree Fortune is out of his preliminary card matchup against fellow up-and-comer Grant Nealfor undisclosed reasons.
Neal (4-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will remain on the card againstMaurice Jackson of Jackson Wink MMA. The fight will take place at 205 pounds.
Bellator 254 takes place Thursday, Dec. 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network after prelims on MMA Junkie.
At Bellator 243 in August, Neal returned to action for the first time since the promotion’s pandemic-induced hiatus. Neal dominated American Top Team Portland’s Hamza Salim for the majority of three rounds and earned a unanimous decision victory as a result.
A Bellator newcomer, Jackson (7-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has six wins in seven victories. His most recent win came in December 2018 when he finished former UFC and Bellator fighter Melvin Guillard with punches.
With the change, the Bellator 254 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (CBS Sports Network/DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)
- Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Juliana Velasquez – for Bellator women’s flyweight title
- Magomed Magomedov vs. Matheus Mattos
- Nate Andrews vs. Goiti Yamauchi
- Ronny Markes vs. Linton Vassell
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7:15 p.m. ET)
- Romero Cotton vs. Justin Sumter
- Maurice Jackson vs. Grant Neal
- Kemran Lachinov vs. Shamil Nikaev
- Davion Franklin vs. Anthony Garrett
- Kenny Champion vs. Cody Law