Today, the PFL announced that the second Bellator Champions Series card will go down on May 17th and it will go down in Paris, France. The card will feature two massive title fights as lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0, 1 NC) will take on fellow Russian Alexander Shabliy (24-3) in the main event.
The co-main event also features a massive title fight. Bellator bantamweight champion and P4P great Patchy Mix (19-1) will look to successfully defend his title for the first time as he takes on a familiar foe in top contender Magomed Magomedov (20-3).
Bellator Champions Series Main Event
Let’s kick things off by talking about the main event. Usman Nurmagomedov will return to action for the first time since last October when he defeated Brent Primus in a dominant five-round fight. However, he tested positive for a banned substance which earned him a six-month ban and the fight was overturned to a No Contest.
Nurmagomedov tested positive for a prescription medication that he failed to properly disclose before the fight with Primus. That fight for the lightweight title served as the semifinals of the Lightweight Grand Prix that was going on with Bellator. In the other semifinal matchup, Alexander Shabliy dominated former champ Patricky Pitbull.
With this booking, PFL is keeping together the proposed finals of the Lightweight Grand Prix. That said, in the press release, there was no mention of that tournament so this appears to be moving forward just as a lightweight title fight.
Patchy Mix – Magomed Magomedov
The co-main event on May 17th will feature the first title defense for Patchy Mix. Mix won the Bantamweight Grand Prix by running through the competition and then faced off against then champion Sergio Pettis to unify the bantamweight title. Like he had with all his recent opponents, Mix dominated Pettis and submitted him in the second round.
It’s hard to find a more dominant bantamweight in the world right now. The Bellator bantamweight champion lost to Juan Archuleta by decision in his first crack at the title back in 2020. Since then, he’s 6-0 with five finishes and he’s defeated the likes of Sergio Pettis, Raufeon Stots, Kyoji Horiguchi, James Gallagher, and his opponent on May 17th, Magomed Magomedov.
Magomedov started his professional career an impressive 13-0. Over his last ten fights, he’s gone 7-3, but the losses have been to Mix, former interim Bellator champ Raufeon Stots, and former UFC champion Petr Yan. Not too bad if you’re going to take a few losses.
The last time we saw Magomedov was last July when he submitted Danny Sabatello in the first round of their fight. This should be a very fun matchup for the bantamweight title.