Cris Lencioni officially pulled from James Gallagher fight as Bellator 298 adds five new bouts
The Bellator 298 lineup unsurprisingly has lost a fight while gaining five others.
In a press release announcing the five new bouts Thursday, Bellator also removed James Gallagher vs. Cris Lencioni from the lineup. While the release made no mention of Lencioni’s removal, a promotion official confirmed to MMA Junkie that he won’t compete at Bellator 298 after it was revealed last week that the 28-year-old is in intensive care following a cardiac arrest suffered in training. There haven’t been any updates on his condition since.
Bellator intends to find a replacement for Gallagher, who hasn’t competed since a submission loss to current interim bantamweight champion Patchy Mix in November 2021. Gallagher’s previous two fight bookings prior to Lencioni were canceled.
Among the five additions, flyweight Diana Avsaragova will look to remain undefeated when she takes on UFC veteran Justine Kish. Avsaragova (6-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) is coming off a split decision win over Alejandra Lara in February at Bellator 290.
Below is the updated Bellator 298 lineup:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)
Logan Storley vs. Brennan Ward
Valentin Moldavsky vs. Steve Mowry
Aaron Jeffery vs. Dalton Rosta
Islam Mamedov vs. Sidney Outlaw
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, YouTube, 5:30 p.m. ET)
Weber Almeida vs. Lucas Brennan
Leandro Higo vs. Nikita Mikhailov
Diana Avsaragova vs. Justine Kish
Aalon Cruz vs. Alfie Davis
Dayana Silva vs. Katerina Shakalova
Jario Pacheco vs. Max Rohskopf
Jerrell Hodge vs. Marcirley Alves da Silva
Michael Blockhus vs. Eli Mefford
More Bellator!
Patchy Mix compares finishing ability to UFC's Charles Oliveira: 'I'm not a point fighter'
USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 20: Arman Tsarukyan, Larissa Pacheco climb
Bellator 297 winner Kyle Crutchmer ready to turn corner to next level after TKO win
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 298.
