Bellator 302 adds Patricio Freire vs. Jeremy Kennedy title fight, Gallagher vs. Higo to Belfast lineup
The lineup for the first standalone Bellator event under its new PFL ownership continues to grow, and with a new title fight for Northern Ireland.
Featherweight champion Patricio Freire (34-7) will put his title on the line against Jeremy Kennedy (19-3) in a little more than three weeks at Bellator 302 at SSE Arena in Belfast. Bellator officials announced the hastily booked matchup Thursday only a few days after Freire’s fight against 2023 PFL featherweight winner Jesus Pinedo was scrapped in Saudi Arabia. He was booked against Gabriel Braga, instead, but Braga was pulled on weigh-in day.
In addition, Bellator officials announced a matchup between submission standouts James Gallagher (12-2) and Leandro Higo (22-6). Complicating things even more: Gallagher originally was booked to fight Kennedy on the card. But for Bellator 302, it could be a case of all’s well that ends well.
Freire most recently defended the 145-pound title against Adam Borics in October 2022. In 2023, he took a shot at the bantamweight belt, but lost a decision to Sergio Pettis. Against Chihiro Suzuki six weeks later, he was knocked out in the first round in Japan under the Rizin banner, which put him on the first skid of his career.
The 31-year-old Kennedy, from Canada, has four fights in the UFC – his only loss there was to ex-champ Alexander Volkanovski – and three for the PFL. But most recently, he’s gone 4-1 for Bellator, including three straight wins over Emmanuel Sanchez, Aaron Pico and Pedro Carvalho.
The latest Bellator 302 lineup includes:
- Corey Anderson vs. Karl Moore – for vacant light heavyweight title
- Champ Patricio Freire vs. Jeremy Kennedy – for featherweight title
- James Gallagher vs. Leandro Higo
- Leah McCourt vs. Sinead Kavanagh
- Fabian Edwards vs. Aaron Jeffery
- Manoel Sousa vs. Tim Wilde
- Ciaran Clarke vs. Darius Mafi
- Alfie Davis vs. Tofiq Musayev
- Nathan Kelly vs. Vikas Singh Ruhil
- Abraham Bably vs. Isaiah Pinson
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 302.
