Bellator 288 fight card announced: 13 bouts official for Chicago

Bellator’s long-awaited return to Chicago this fall now has 13 official fights on the docket.

Bellator 288 is set for Nov. 18 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago with the main card airing on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The card is headlined by two title fights including the light heavyweight grand prix final rematch between champion Vadim Nemkov (14-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) and challenger Corey Anderson (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).

Their first meeting at Bellator 277 in April ended in a “no contest” after an unintentional clash of heads on the ground caused a fight-ending laceration on Nemkov’s face.

In the co-main event, lightweight champion Patricky Freire (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) will attempt to defend the title for the first time against undefeated challenger Usman Nurmagomedov (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).

Rounding out the main card is Akhmed Magomedov (9-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) vs. Daniel Weichel (42-13 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) at featherweight, Tyrell Fortune (12-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) vs. Daniel James (13-6-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at heavyweight and Levan Chokheli (10-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) vs. Roman Faraldo (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA).

With the addition, the Bellator 288 lineup includes:

• Champion Vadnim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson – grand prix final for light heavyweight title
• Champion Patricky Freire vs. Usman Nurmagomedov – for lightweight title
• Akhmed Magomedov vs. Daniel Weichel
• Tyrell Fortune vs. Daniel James
• Levan Chokheli vs. Roman Faraldo
• Khasan Askhabov vs. Otto Rodrigues
• Lucas Brennan vs. Nick Talavera
• Imamshafi Aliev vs. Sean Fallon
• Archie Colgan vs. Jesse Hannam
• Jaylon Bates vs. Jornel Lugo
• Jordan Newman vs. Jayden Taulker
• Isaiah Hokit vs. Matias Nader
• Vlad Gouvea vs. Kory Moegenburg