Self
Bellator 185: Mousasi vs. Shlemenko took place on October 20, 2017 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut . Bellator 185 marked the debut of heralded middleweight fighter Gegard Mousasi. Having competed for the UFC for the last four years, Mousasi opted to sign with Bellator MMA when his contract came up. Muhammed Lawal was scheduled to face Liam McGeary in a Light Heavyweight bout in the co-main event. However, on October 2, he pulled out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by Bubba McDaniel. The following week, McGeary pulled out of the fight due to a thumb injury. Brennan Ward was scheduled to face David Rickels in a welterweight bout on the main card. However, on October 16, Ward was removed from the card due to injury and Rickels was pulled from the card as a result. Javier Torres was scheduled to face Neiman Gracie on this card, but pulled out due to injury. He was replaced with welterweight Zak Bucia.
Bellator 178: Straus vs. Pitbull 4 took place on April 21, 2017 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut . The event aired live on Spike TV. Bellator returned to Mohegan Sun with a Featherweight world title fight pitting Daniel Straus against Patricio "Pitbull" Freire as the main event of Bellator 178. Straus and Freire have fought three times before; Freire won one by submission and once by decision, while Straus most recently won by decision. A middleweight bout between Ed Ruth and Aaron Goodwine was originally scheduled for this card, but failed to materialize. Ruth instead faced David Mundell.
