Bellator 278 Gains Dante Schiro-Scotty Hao Welterweight Matchup

A former middleweight and an ex-lightweight will meet in the middle at the first of two Bellator MMA Hawaii shows in April.

According to sources close to the situation, Bellator 278 will be gaining an interesting preliminary match in the welterweight division on April 22. Dante Schiro (8-3) will be making his return to the Bellator cage, and he will be taking on Hawaii’s Scotty Hao (5-3). The two will come to blows inside of the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

Schiro made his organizational debut in August 2021 when he took on top contender Logan Storley, and fought the vaunted wrestler to a close split decision. That win snapped a two-fight finish streak for the Wisconsin native, who has previously tapped Victor Moreno in 2020 and then knocked Kenny Robertson out earlier in 2021. As a pro, the Chosen Few Gym representative celebrates a finish rate of 87%, with none of his stoppages coming any later than 8:48 in a bout. Schiro started his career at middleweight, picking up three of his first four wins in that division before shifting gears to 170 pounds.

Hao introduced himself to the company in 2019, when he took on Keoni Diggs when Bellator traveled to Hawaii that year. Against Diggs, he succumbed to the first finish defeat of his career, tapping out a rear-naked choke in the second frame. Since then, he claimed his first victory on the scorecards when he overcame Timothy Teves in 2020. This will be Hao’s first appearance at 170 pounds since a King of the Cage contest in 2017.

Bellator 278 will go down at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu on April 22, with a women’s flyweight championship affair on tap for its headliner. Juliana Velasquez will look to defend her title against powerful wrestler Liz Carmouche in the main event. It is currently unclear if Enrique Barzola will take on another comer with Josh Hill withdrawing from their bantamweight tournament alternate bout. If not, a 135-pound tourney qualifier between Jornel Lugo and Danny Sabatello will likely take the co-headliner spot.