Both Chris Curtis and Nainoa Dung have withdrawn from the event due to positive COVID-19 tests. Curtis was slated to face Austin Vanderford, while Dung was scheduled to meet Piankhi Zimmerman. As a result, Vanderford will square off against current CES MMA champ Vinicius de Jesus in a main card affair at middleweight, while Zimmerman will lock horns with Ali Zebian on the preliminary draw at lightweight.
Meanwhile, a preliminary light heavyweight clash pitting Terrance Jean-Jacques against Gustavo Trujillo has been canceled for unknown reasons.
Sherdog.com confirmed the updates to the card with a promotion official on Monday following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. MyMMANews first brought word of Curtis’ positive COVID-19 test.
Bellator 251 takes place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut and is headlined by a light heavyweight duel between Corey Anderson and Melvin Manhoef. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel at 4:45 p.m. ET/1:45 p.m. PT.