Bellator 270 has lost a fight after Junior Morgan suffered an injury last night, meaning his preliminary card feathweight bout with Darragh Kelly is off just hours from the start of the event.
Irishman Darragh Kelly was set to make his professional debut on Friday evening in front of home fans at the 3Arena against Morgan.
Kelly was seen as the favourite for the now-cancelled fight by bookmakers and was one of two Irish debutants on the card.
The 23-year-old who trains with SBG Ireland was Clan Wars featherweight champion as an amateur and is yet to be beaten in a mixed-martial-arts fight.
His injured opposite, Morgan, is currently 3-0 in his professional career but had a patchy amateur record, losing his last fight before he went pro.
Morgan was set to fight for the first time in 26 months against Kelly in his Bellator debut this evening but will have to wait a few months more before he returns to the cage.
The other Irish debutant on the card, Stephen Costello, is still on track to walk out for the first time as a professional in front of an Irish crowd – Costello is one of five Irish fighters on the card.
Costello will fight British debutant Yusuf Nazokatov who trains with Manchester Top Team – a gym that has fighters such as former UFC Heavyweight and interim Heavyweight champion Frank Mir, Lerone Murphy and Jordan Barton – Barton fights on the same card against Ciaran Clarke.
The Bellator 270 main event sees Peter Queally take on Patricky Pitbull for the vacant lightweight championship.
The Waterford native will look to settle the score with Patricky, who he beat earlier in the year at Bellator 258 when the doctor intervened after Pitbull was cut by the Irishman.
“It’s just a dream come true,” the 34-year-old said at Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference. “It’s 12/13 years of work that’s finally coming to fruition. I’m very, very proud of myself – that’s all I can say about it. I’m just very, very proud of myself to have got here.”
