This was the first Bellator event to air on Showtime, and the first MMA event to air on the network since the Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine event on January 12, 2013.[2] The event streamed for free in the United States on Pluto TV and YouTube, in addition to Hulu, FuboTV, and participating cable television providers.[3]
The event was headlined by the semi-final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix Tournament in a rematch between the current champion Patricio Freire and Emmanuel Sanchez. Freire won the last bout at Bellator 209 via unanimous decision.[4]
A bantamweight bout between Jared Scoggins and Magomed Magomedov was scheduled to take place at this event. However, on March 18, Scoggins pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Cee Jay Hamilton.[5]
Matt Mitrione was expected to face Tyrell Fortune at this event.[6] However, during the week of the bout, Mitrione had to pull out and was replaced by Jack May.[7]
At weigh-ins, Aguiar missed weight by 1.7 pounds and Faraldo missed weight by .1 pounds. Both were fined a percentage of their purses. Mukhamed Berkhamov missed weight by 2.8 pounds, leading to the bout between him and Herman Terrado being pulled from the lineup due to Berkhamov’s miss.[10]