Bellator 266 Gains Neiman Gracie-Mark Lemminger Co-Main Event, 3 Other Matches

Updated fight card for Bellator 266: Davis vs. Romero - Saturday, Sept. 18 - @SAPCenter in San Jose. pic.twitter.com/uFXOfVc1H5

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) August 26, 2021

The next Bellator MMA event in September is beginning to shape up nicely.

Per MMA Fighting on Thursday, the promotion has added several matches to its upcoming Bellator 266 show. The event, which will take place inside the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., has gained Neiman Gracie (10-2) vs. Mark Lemminger (12-3) at welterweight as its co-headliner. A Bellator official has since confirmed this booking and a few others to Sherdog.

Gracie will be looking to rebound from a contentious decision loss to Jason Jackson in April, which marked the first non-title tilt he had ever lost. The Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu prodigy has largely excelled in the Bellator cage, racking up seven submissions in eight victories, including tapouts of Ed Ruth and Jon Fitch over the years. Gracie celebrates the second-most submission wins in company history along with A.J. McKee, while Goiti Yamauchi sits above them both with eight.

Lemminger, who has never been submitted, snapped the first losing streak of his career by pounding out Demarques Jackson in June. That skid that took place exclusively in 2020 came in the form of a doctor stoppage loss to eventual champ Yaroslav Amosov, and the first decision defeat of his career at the hands of Jaleel Willis three months later. Lemminger came into the promotion on a three-fight win streak, and he made his successful Bellator debut by dispatching Jake Smith at Bellator 242.

Beyond Gracie-Lemminger, Bellator has added a trio of preliminary bouts that include a light heavyweight contest between the unbeaten Christian Edwards (5-0) and “Big Tuna” Ben Parrish (4-1) that was scheduled on multiple previous occasions. Khalid Murtazaliev (15-2) will make his Bellator return against Travis Davis (10-5) at middleweight, while Abraham Vaesau (5-3, 1 NC) comes to blows with Albert Gonzales (2-2) in a 175-pound catchweight affair.

Bellator 266 goes down in San Jose, Calif., at the SAP Center on Sept. 18. The fight card will be capped off by a light heavyweight matchup pitting Yoel Romero against Phil Davis in a non-tournament, three-round bout. In addition to the new co-main event of Gracie vs. Lemminger, Alejandra Lara will take on DeAnna Bennett at flyweight on the main card.