Bellator 280: Five Brits set for action in France as final fight card confirmed for Paris

A clutch of Brits with a point to prove head across the English Channel in search of victory as the Bellator cage returns to Paris on Friday, May 6.

London Shootfighters middleweight contender Mike Shipman leads the way for the U.K. as Bellator returns to European soil this weekend for Bellator 280 in Paris, France.

"Seabass" will take on France's Gregory Babene in the main card opener on Friday night as he looks to reignite a run toward the top of the promotion's 185-pound division.

Former BAMMA middleweight champion Shipman arrived in Bellator with a bang as he scored back-to-back first-round finishes to defeat Carl Noon and Scott Futrell via knockout and D'Arce choke submission, respectively.

Those wins saw him elevated up the ranks, but 2019 defeats to Costello van Steenis and Fabian Edwards halted Shipman's charge. However, the Brit bounced back with a hard-earned unanimous decision victory over Pietro Penini in Milan in September 2020.

Now Shipman is all set to return to action as he looks to claim back-to-back wins for the second time under the Bellator banner.

Also set for action against French opposition is Welsh welterweight contender Lewis "The Foot" Long. The submission specialist is riding a two-fight win streak, with both victories coming via first-round submission. He'll look to make it three in a row against Thibault Gouti on Friday night.

Also on the card, featherweight Jordan Barton and lightweights Charlie Leary and Gavin Hughes will each head to Paris looking to return to form after defeats in their last Bellator outings.

The event is headlined by a battle for the Bellator heavyweight title, as defending champion Ryan Bader puts his title on the line against France’s Cheick Kongo in a rematch of their 2019 title fight, which ended controversially as a no contest.

Bellator 280 will be shown live on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer on Friday night, with the preliminary card kicking off at 5:30pm UK time, followed by the main card at 9:00pm.

Bellator 280: Official Fight Card

MAIN CARD

• Ryan Bader (c) vs. Cheick Kongo – for heavyweight title

• Yoel Romero vs. Alex Polizzi

• Davy Gallon vs. Benjamin Brander

• Lorenz Larkin vs. Kyle Stewart

• Mike Shipman vs. Gregory Babene

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Pedro Carvalho vs. Piotr Niedzielski

• Lewis Long vs. Thibault Gouti

• Fabacary Diatta vs. Jordan Barton

• Soren Bak vs. Charlie Leary

• Yves Landu vs. Gavin Hughes

• Nicolo Solli vs. Levy Carriel

• Lucie Bertaud vs. Katarzyna Sadura

• Youcef Ouabbas vs. Matthieu Duclos

• Victor Verchere vs. Bourama Camara