Bellator 225 prelim lineup adds Mike Kimbel, Tuff-N-Uff champ Grant Neal
A pair of preliminary bouts have been added to the deep Bellator 225 lineup.
In a bantamweight matchup, rising bantamweight Mike Kimbel will return to action to take on Chris Disonell at a catchweight of 140 pounds.
Also on the card, Tuff-N-Uff light heavyweight champ Grant Neal will make his promotional debut against Alpha Toure.
A promotion official confirmed the bookings with MMA Junkie on Tuesday. The bout between Kimbel and Disonell was first reported by The Body Lock.
Bellator 225 will take place Aug. 24 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. The main card will air on Paramount Network after prelims stream live on MMA Junkie.
Through just four professional bouts, Connecticut’s Kimbel (3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) has already made a name for himself. The 22-year-old bantamweight gained much notoriety following his highlight-reel slam knockout against Geoffrey Then at Bellator 194 in February 2018. The Nick Newell protégé followed up that performance by knocking out Alex Potts in just six seconds at Bellator 2017 in October 2018.
His opponent, “Showbiz Diz” Disonell (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), will look to get back on track after dropping an unanimous decision to Chaka Worthy at Maverick MMA 13 earlier this year. The 26-year-old fighter has one submission victory in three professional wins.
Tuff-N-Uff champion Neal (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will make his Bellator MMA debut less than three months after he signed with the promotion in June. The former Colorado State University football standout turned toward MMA after a false sexual assault accusation derailed his dreams of making it to the NFL.
The Nate Marquardt trainee went 6-0 as an amateur before he turned professional in February. In his pro debut, Neal defeated Juan Molina via 46-second submission. He’ll take on the undefeated amateur Toure (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who will be making his professional debut in Bridgeport.
The card is currently headlined by contenders Matt Mitrione (13-6 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) and Sergei Kharitonov (29-7 MMA, 2-1 BMMA). Also on the card, Vitaly Minakov (21-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) will take on Javy Ayala (11-7 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) in the co-main event, and Timothy Johnson (12-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) will battle Valentin Moldavsky (8-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA).