Bellator 270 takes place at 3Arena in Dublin on Friday, November 5 and sees Peter Queally (13-5) take on Patricky Pitbull (23-10) for the vacant lightweight championship in the main event.
Queally is one of five Irish fighters on the full card, leading the way alongside James Gallagher (11-1), who fights in the co-main event.
The Waterford native will look to settle the score with Patricky, who he beat earlier in the year at Bellator 258 when the doctor intervened after Pitbull was cut by the Irishman.
The Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship winner with Dungarvan looks forward to fighting in front of his home fans for the belt – the fight is the biggest to ever be staged in Dublin.
“It’s just a dream come true,” the 34-year-old said at Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference. “It’s 12/13 years of work that’s finally coming to fruition. I’m very, very proud of myself – that’s all I can say about it. I’m just very, very proud of myself to have got here.”
If he beats Pitbull, Queally will become Ireland’s first-ever champion in Bellator, mirroring teammate Conor McGregor’s feat in the UFC in 2015.
However, Patricky has experience in this scenario – five years ago, he fought Michael Chandler for the vacant belt in the division – and he has also fought in two Bellator lightweight tournament finals.
Although he is coming off two losses in a row, a knockout win for the Brazilian would bring his tally in Bellator up to 10, which would be the most by anyone in the organisation’s history – he already has the most in the history of the lightweight division.
Yet, neither fighter has ever won the belt and Friday night will end with one of them changing that.
In the co-main, Gallagher will face number three Bantamweight contender Patchy Mix (14-1) – the winner of the fight could put themselves in prime position for the next title bout at 135 lbs.
Mix was the only fighter to miss weight at Thursday’s weigh-in and he will be hoping to make up for that mistake with a win in Dublin.
His only loss in his career came in a title fight to Juan Archuleta, who has since been dethroned by Sergio Pettis.
The American will want to avoid a second loss in three fights after winning 13 straight to start his professional career (23 including amateur).
Gallagher, on the other hand, will aim to snuff out any chance of a home defeat and stretch his win streak to five, 13 months after he last fought.
The fight was supposed to happen at 258 alongside Queally and Pitbull’s original bout but Gallagher withdrew because of a shoulder injury.
The two men will look to put their differences to bed in the cage and stake their claim for a chance at bantamweight glory.
Also on the main card, are fights between German veteran Daniel Weichel and Pedro Carvalho, and Ilias Bulaid and Georges Sasu – both featherweight scuffles.
Carvalho has lost his last two and will look to turn the tide against a man who has fought professionally for 19 years.
Bulaid and Sasu both have belts from previous organisations (Bulaid in kickboxing) and the pair will aim to establish themselves in Bellator’s featherweight division with a win – Bulaid has won his two fights at Bellator while Sasu will make his debut.
The prelims see three Irish fighters attempt to get the crowd going early on – Ciaran Clarke and Danni Neilan will put their unbeaten records on the line once more while Stephen Costello begins his pro careers in the Irish capital.
Full Card
Main Card
Lightweight World Title Main Event: #4-Peter Queally (155.0) vs. #1-Patricky “Pitbull” (153.6)
Bantamweight Co-Main Event: #6-James Gallagher (136.0) vs. #3-Patchy Mix (137.8)*
Featherweight Bout: #6-Daniel Weichel (145.6) vs. #7-Pedro Carvalho (145.8)
Featherweight Bout: Ilias Bulaid (145.8) vs. Georges Sasu (144.6)
Preliminary Card
Featherweight Bout: Ciaran Clarke (145.6) vs. Jordan Barton (143.0)
Lightweight Bout: Daniele Scatizzi (155.0) vs. Brian Hooi (156.0)
Light Heavyweight Bout: Lee Chadwick (205.6) vs. Arunas Andriuskevicus (205.4)
Welterweight Bout: Nicolò Solli (170.8) vs. Bobby Pallett (170.6)
Strawweight Bout: Danni Neilan (115.6) vs. Audrey Kerouche (114.8)
Welterweight Bout: Stephen Costello (171.0) vs. Yusuf Nazokatov (170.8)
Heavyweight Bout: Gokhan Saricam (236.4) vs. Charlie Milner (263.2)
Odds
Main Card
Queally 15/8 v Pitbull 2/5
Gallagher 12/5 v Mix 3/10
Weichel 2/5 v Carvalho 15/8
Bulaid 1/2 v Sasu 13/8
Preliminary Card
Clarke 4/5 v Barton EVS
Scatizzi 15/8 v Hooi 2/5
Chadwick 9/4 v Andriuskevicus 1/3
Solli 12/5 v Nicolas 3/10
Neilan 1/5 v Kerouche 7/2
Costello 8/15 v Nazokatov 6/4
Saricam 1/5 v Milner 7/2
Where To Watch
Bellator 270 will be available to watch live on Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Sport. The preliminary card is set to begin at 5:30 pm with the main card scheduled to kick-off at 9 pm.
