Ryan Bader and Linton Vassell have to wait for their rematch.
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck confirmed with promotion officials that Vassell has been forced to withdraw from his heavyweight title fight against Bader that was scheduled to take place on the main card of Bellator 300 this Saturday in San Diego. The news was first reported by MMA Junkie.
It is not yet known why Vassell fell out of the contest. Bellator officials also confirmed that Bader will not remain on the card with no plans to seek out a replacement opponent on short notice.
This was to be the second meeting between the two fighters, with Bader successfully defending a light heavyweight title by defeating Vassell via second-round TKO at Bellator 186 in November 2017. Since that time, both men have become full-time heavyweights.
Bader (31-7, 1 NC) successfully defended the heavyweight title three straight times, most recently earning a knockout win against the legendary Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 290 this past February.
Vassell’s heavyweight run had a bumpy start as he lost a decision to Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 218, but he rebounded with five straight wins including a first-round knockout in a rematch with Moldavsky at Bellator 292.
Bellator 300 still features three title matches, with lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov defending against Brent Primus in the main event, featherweight champion Cris Cyborg defending against Cat Zingano, and flyweight champion Liz Carmouche defending against Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.
Damon Martin contributed to this report
