Bellator MMA is returning to London on May 13th and they are putting together a sensational card. Of course, the main event features Michael “Venom” Page challenging Yaroslav Amosov for the welterweight championship.
Today, we learned that there is another big time fight that’s been added to Bellator London. The promotion’s European Twitter page, tweeted out that former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (26-11) will be making his first appearance of 2022 against Fabien Edwards (9-2).
This is going to be a huge opportunity for Fabien Edwards. Edward, a native on England and brother to top UFC contender Leon Edwards, is looking to snap his current two-fight losing streak.
The last time we saw Edwards was last May when he took on Austin Vanderford at Bellator 259. Edwards lost that fight by decision and that was on the heels of a split decision loss that came against Costello van Steenis.
These were the first two losses of Edwards career. However, he can erase the bad taste out of his mouth in a hurry at Bellator London. A win over Lyoto Machida would be massive and would get him right back on track.
Bellator’s Return of The Dragon
As mentioned, this will be the first Bellator fight of 2022 for Lyoto Machida. The last time we saw him was back in April of 2021 when he competed in the promotion’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix against Ryan Bader.
Machida lost a decision which was his third consecutive loss. That said, it’s worth noting how competitive Machida has been during his three straight losses. He lost to Phil Davis and Gegard Mousasi for the Bellator middleweight title, both by split decision.
The soon to be 44 year old has remained competitive with some of the best that Bellator has to offer. Now, he’s getting a reset fight against a top prospect in Fabien Edwards. This could truly make or break Machida. A fourth consecutive loss to Edwards might spell the official end of The Machida Era.