Yoel Romero meets Alex Polizzi at Bellator 280 following Melvin Manhoef withdrawal
Romero #Romero
Yoel Romero has a new opponent for Bellator 280.
With Melvin Manhoef out, Romero (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) now meets rising light heavyweight Alex Polizzi (10-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) in a three-round co-main event.
The card takes place May 6 at AccorHotels Arena in Paris with the main card streaming on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.
A Bellator official Saturday confirmed the change to MMA Junkie following an initial report from Dutch outlet Redactie Telesport. The report cited an injury for Manhoef, which it says he sustained in a recent apprehension of three alleged attempted burglars.
The bout was expected to be Manhoef’s final one for Bellator, promotion president Scott Coker told MMA Junkie in an interview prior to its cancellation.
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Romero, 45, signed with Bellator in 2021 and debuted in September of that year against fellow former UFC fighter Phil Davis. The matchup served as the Bellator 266 main event, in which Davis defeated Romero via unanimous decision. After the fight, Romero voiced frustration because he thought the fight was a five-round main event, rather than three. Bellator has since made all main events five rounds, regardless of title status.
Polizzi, 30, enters his short-notice Bellator 280 opportunity on a three-fight winning streak. A former LFA champion, Polizzi has defeated the likes of former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho and fellow contender Grant Neal among others since he signed with the promotion in 2020. He most recently competed at Bellator 276 in March when he defeated Jose Augusto via submission to cap off an exciting, back-and-forth brawl.
With the change, the Bellator 280 lineup includes:
Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo – for heavyweight championship
Alex Polizzi vs. Yoel Romero
Lorenz Larkin vs. Kyle Stewart
Davion Franklin vs. TBA
Soren Bak vs. Charlie Leary
Gavin Hughes vs. Yves Landu
Pedro Carvalho vs. Piotr Niedzielski
Gregory Babene vs. Mike Shipman
Thibault Gouti vs. Lewis Long
Fabacary Diatta def. Jordan Barton
Joel Kouadja vs. Nicolo Solli
Lucie Bertaud vs. Katarzyna Sadura
Bourama Camara vs. Victor Verchere
Mathieu Ducios vs. Youcef Ouabbas