After more than two years out of competitive action, Keri Taylor-Melendez is back.
At Bellator 292, which takes place March 10 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., Taylor-Melendez (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) will compete on the prelims against Bruna Ellen (6-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) in a women’s flyweight bout.
Additionally, a main card heavyweight contender rematch between Valentin Moldavsky (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) and Linton Vassell (23-8 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) has been added to the event.
A promotion official recently informed MMA Junkie of both bouts.
Taylor-Melendez, 38, is the wife of former UFC title challenger and former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. She has competed intermittently since her debut in 2016 with three finishes in five wins. She most recently competed in November 2020, but was booked to fight in February 2022 before the bout was canceled.
Ellen, 26, has alternated wins and losses over her past six fights dating back to August 2017. She enters the bout off a unanimous decision loss to Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in August.
Moldavsky, 30, and Vassell, 39, fought at Bellator 218 in March 2019. Moldavsky defeated Vassell by unanimous decision. Since the first meeting, Vassell has not lost. He rides a four-fight winning streak with victories over Tim Johnson, Tyrell Fortune, Ronny Markes and Sergei Kharitonov. Moldavsky is 3-1 with a no contest in five bouts since the Vassell win. The lone loss was a unanimous decision in a heavyweight title challenge against Ryan Bader.
With the addition, the Bellator 292 lineup includes:
- Champion Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Benson Henderson – grand prix quarterfinal for lightweight title
- Tofiq Musayev vs. Alexander Shabliy – grand prix quarterfinal
- Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell
- Bruna Ellen vs. Keri Taylor-Melendez
- Enrique Barzola vs. Erik Perez
- Cass Bell vs. Josh Hill
- Wladmir Gouvea vs. Sean Tucker
- Theo Haig vs. Adam Wamsley
