(Image via Press Release)

By Press Release

LOS ANGELES — The main and co-main event of BELLATOR 283 at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington, on July 22 have been shuffled following the news that Patricky “Pitbull” has been forced out of his lightweight championship fight against Sidney Outlaw because of injury.

As a result, former welterweight champion and No. 3-ranked Douglas “The Phenom” Lima (32-10 MMA, 14-6 BMMA) will take on the surging No. 4-ranked contender Jason “The Ass-Kicking Machine” Jackson (15-4 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) in a five-round 170-pound headliner, while No. 1-ranked lightweight contender Sidney “Da Gun” Outlaw (16-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) will now compete against Tofiq Musayev (18-4 MMA) after his original opponent Adam Piccolotti also withdrew because of injury. Musayev, who is making his BELLATOR debut, is the former RIZIN lightweight title and holds a victory current BELLATOR champion “Patricky Pitbull”.

The main card of BELLATOR 283: Lima vs. Jackson airs live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, and also features undefeated No. 3-ranked lightweight Usman Nurmagomedov (14-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) putting his unbeaten record on the line against Team Alpha Male’s Chris “CG” Gonzalez (7-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA). Former BELLATOR welterweight title challenger Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin (24-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) and top Russian prospect Mukhamed “Cherkes” Berkhamov (15-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will be battling at 170-pounds, while the opening main card fight sees No. 5-ranked heavyweight Davion Franklin (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) tangle with Brazil’s Marcelo Golm (9-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).

A lightweight bout between Vladimir “Vova” Tokov and unbeaten Justin “Kid Marvelous” Montalvo (5-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) has been scrapped, but Montalvo will remain on the card against another highly touted prospect in Archie Colgan (4-0), who was signed to the promotion just last week. Colgan, who wrestled at University of Wyoming, now trains in Denver alongside talented mixed martial artists such as Kamaru Usman and Justin Gaethje.

Furthermore, a previously announced light heavyweight tilt between Viktor Nemkov and Team Pitbull’s Jose “Gugu” Augusto was also canceled due to a Nemkov injury.

Tickets for BELLATOR 283: Lima vs. Jackson are currently available at Bellator.com and Ticketmaster.