Fights on Tap: Gegard Mousasi vs. Johnny Eblen among 9 Bellator bouts announced

Fights on Tap is a weekly roundup of all the fights booked in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.

It’s fight week! UFC 273 is ahead of us, but before we get excited about such a stacked pay-per-view, let’s take a moment to appreciate the Cage Warriors doubleheader that kept us thoroughly entertained this past weekend. Cage Warriors 135 and 136 were great events, but the latter could be in the running for ‘Event of the Year’ easily. CW 136 had every fight end in a finish, including Christian Leroy Duncan’s title-winning flying knee TKO of Djati Melan and Manny Akpan’s capoeira-style kick that flattened Connor Hitchens.

Now, let’s look ahead to the updated schedule of the UFC and Bellator. The UFC either announced or finalized ten fights this week, and the recent additions are scattered across upcoming pay-per-view and Fight Night events.

Bellator has confirmed the next title defense for middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi, who returns against undefeated prospect Johnny Eblen at Bellator 282 in June. In his most recent appearances, the ‘Dreamcatcher’ has successfully defended his title twice, finishing John Salter and Austin Vanderford by technical knockout at Bellator 264 and Bellator 275. Meanwhile, ’The Human Cheat Code’ has improved to 11-0 as a professional, with his unanimous decision win over the aforementioned Salter earning him his first championship opportunity under the Bellator banner.

UFC 273: Volkanovski vs TKZ — April 9

Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd — middleweight

Alexey Oleynik vs. Jared Vanderaa — heavyweight

UFC VEGAS 51: Luque vs Muhammad — April 16

Devin Clark vs. William Knight — heavyweight

UFC VEGAS 53: Font vs Vera — April 30

Andre Fili vs. Joanderson Sá Brito — featherweight

UFC VEGAS 54: Blachowicz vs Rakić — May 14

Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento — flyweight

UFC Fight Night: Ige vs Evloev — June 4

Joaquin Buckley vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov — middleweight

UFC 275: Teixeira vs Prochazka — June 11

Kyung Ho Kang vs. Saimon de Oliveira — bantamweight

UFC Fight Night: Marquez vs Turman — June 18

Julian Marquez vs. Wellington Turman — middleweight

Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn — middleweight

UFC Fight Night — June 25

Josh Parisian — Alan Baudot — heavyweight

Announced Bellator fights:

Bellator 278: Velasquez vs Carmouche — April 22

Erik Perez vs. Cee Jay Hamilton — bantamweight

Bellator 279: Cyborg vs Blencowe 2 — April 23

Janay Harding vs. Dayana Silva — women’s featherweight

Bellator Paris: Cyborg vs Kongo 2 — May 6

Lorenz Larkin vs. Anthony Adams — middleweight

Youcef Ouabbas vs. Mathieu Ducios — middleweight

Victor Verchere vs. Bourama Camara — welterweight

Bellator 282: Mousasi vs Eblen — June 24

Gegard Mousasi vs. Johnny Eblen — middleweight

Magomed Magomedov vs. Winner of Enrique Barzola vs. Josh Hill — bantamweight

Leandro Higo vs. Winner of Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello — bantamweight

Alejandra Lara vs. Ilara Joanne — women’s flyweight

Announced Professional Fighters League (PFL) fights:

PFL 1 (2022 Regular Season) — April 20

Cory Hendricks vs. Clinton Williams — light heavyweight

PFL 2 (2022 Regular Season) — April 28

Bruno Cappelozza vs. Stuart Austin — heavyweight

Brendan Loughnane vs. Ryoji Kudo — featherweight

Ante Delija vs. Matheus Scheffel — heavyweight

Renan Ferreira vs. Jamelle Jones — heavyweight

Lance Palmer vs. Chris Wade — featherweight

Bubba Jenkins vs. Jo Sungbin — featherweight

Denis Goltsov vs. Sam Kei — heavyweight

Ali Isaev vs. Klidson Abreu — heavyweight

Sheymon Moraes vs. Boston Salmon — featherweight

Alejandro Flores vs. Saba Bolaghi — featherweight

Announced KSW fights:

KSW 69 — April 23

Sebastian Przybysz vs. Zuriko Jojua — bantamweight

Sara Luzar Smajić vs. Natalia Baczyńska — women’s flyweight

Paweł Polityło vs. Patryk Chrobak — bantamweight

Robert Ruchała vs. Michele Baiano — catchweight (150 lbs.)

Wojciech Kazieczko vs. Lubomir Lesák — featherweight

Maciej Kazieczko vs. Wilson Varela — lightweight

Artur Szczepaniak vs. Jivko Stoimenov — welterweight

Announced Invicta FC fights:

Invicta FC 47 — May 11

Emily Ducote vs. Alesha Zappitella — women’s strawweight

Courtney King vs. Chelsea Chandler — women’s featherweight

Lindsey VanZandt vs. Jillian DeCoursey — women’s atomweight

Lisa Verzosa vs. Serena DeJesus — women’s bantamweight

Janaisa Morandin vs. Liana Pirosin — women’s flyweight

Jennifer Chieng vs. Alyssa Linduska — women’s strawweight