Leah McCourt Will Get the Spotlight in the Bellator London Main Event

September 6, 2024

5 months

Combat sports aren’t kind to fighters who aren’t ready to step in at any moment. Leah McCourt and Sara Collins were already scheduled to compete in the Bellator Champions Series on Sept. 14 at the OVO Arena in London when injury news struck. The main event between Fabian Edwards and Johnny Eblen was canceled only a few weeks before the event.

That meant McCourt and Collins were being bumped up to the top spot. McCourt was supposed to fight earlier this year, but had her fight called off after she suffered an injury. It was a tough break for McCourt, who has started to find major improvements during her last few outings.

People evaluating the MMAfighting latest news will see that Collins could use a major bump here to raise her profile among casual MMA fans. Collins, an Australian fighter, only has five professional fights under her belt.

Collins won her first two fights in Bellator.

McCourt Has Been Hanging Tough With Experience Fighters

McCourt actually feels like she should be on a longer winning streak. For now, McCourt is coming off the best win of her career. McCourt knocked out former Olympic silver medalist and former UFC bantamweight challenger Sara McMann back in October last year.

But the fight before her win over McCann was also a good performance from McCourt. She was competent in striking and wrestling against another former UFC title challenger, Cat Zingano.

McCourt controlled long stretches of the fight. However, Zingano opened up McCourt with a vicious knee to the head. When the judges scored the fight, that knee helped her win a narrow split decision.

McCourt is 11-3 in her career. She had a brief two-fight stint in Cage Warriors before joining Bellator in 2019.

McCourt Wants a Shot at Cyborg

Whatever future plans laid ahead for McCourt disappeared when the PFL acquired Bellator. There was a new set of eyes on the product, and they wanted to make changes to better fit their model. Following the win over McCann, McCourt wanted to test herself against Cris Cyborg for a shot at the title.

However, the PFL had a hard time booking a fight with Cyborg, who is one of the biggest names in women’s MMA history. Cyborg wants her final few fights as a professional to be legacy-type fights.

Cyborg was hoping to get a shot at Kayla Harrison. It was unlikely Cyborg would have been eager to fight McCourt. While McCourt has a solid following on social media, she doesn’t quite have the resume to match up to Cyborg’s.

Collins Glad to be Back in Action

Collins was able to protect her perfect record by the skin of her teeth when she beat Sinead Kavanagh by split decision in September 2023. That is a big win as far as Collins is concerned because Kavanagh previously defeated McCourt.

But the MMA latest updates show there is no MMA math that can consistently predict the winners of a fight. A win over Kavanagh won’t give Collins an edge over McCourt. Collins doesn’t have a long resume of results to look at.

However, Collins has shown an ability to lock up submissions and could be dangerous for McCourt to handle on the ground.

Diakiese Ready for Bellator Debut

Marc Diakiese started off his MMA career with great promise. But the best MMA news site shows that after a 12-0 start and three consecutive wins to open his UFC career, Diakiese never found his comfort zone.

Diakiese went 4-5 in his final nine fights with the UFC. While Diakese ended his UFC career with a split-decision win, he and the promotion thought it was better for him to move on. For Diakiese’s debut with Bellator, he will be paired up with another English fighter, Tim Wilde.

Wilde is desperate to bounce back from his last performance. Following a six-fight unbeaten streak, Wilde was knocked out during his last performance against Manoel Sousa in March. This is a quick turnaround for Wilde following his last loss.

Powell Ready for Another Opportunity

Simeon Powell turned in a good performance during the PFL Europe 3 light heavyweight season. While Powell lost via knockout in the final against Jakob Nedoh, he displayed plenty of promise along the way. That potential will keep him in the mix for more opportunities down the road.

Powell has finished seven of his nine wins, including four by knockout. He will be tasked with taking on newcomer Rafael Xavier. Xavier has won two of his past three fights in the popular European promotion Oktagon.

Xavier has demonstrated that he has real power in his hands and has nine victories by knockout.

Captain Lithuania Seeks Another Finish

McCourt and Collins won’t be the only fighters on this card seeking recognition on a larger stage. Laurynas Urbonavicius has mostly fought in smaller promotions and has built an impressive 14-1 record. Urbonavicius has nine knockouts during his 14 career wins.

But one important thing every MMA prospect must learn is that there are different levels of competition. What worked on the regional scene against pro fighters who do it as a hobby are different from fighters who train year-round.

Urbonavicius will have his next fight against Luke Trainer. Trainer has found plenty of success in Bellator, winning three straight and five of his last six bouts. Trainer is a balanced fighter, grabbing three wins by knockout and four submissions.

Here are some other fights scheduled for the card not mentioned above: