Cyborg defense among Bellator 300 title fights

Bellator is stacking the deck for a landmark show coming this fall.

Ryan Bader will defend his Bellator heavyweight title against Linton Vassell in the main event of Bellator 300 on Oct. 7 in San Diego, one of four title fights on the historic card, the promotion announced Wednesday. Cris Cyborg will face Cat Zingano in a Bellator women’s featherweight title fight, as well.

Also on the card, Usman Nurmagomedov will put his Bellator lightweight title on the line against Brent Primus in a Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal bout and Liz Carmouche will defend her Bellator women’s flyweight belt against her teammate and former champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.

Bader (31-7, 1 NC), a 40-year-old Arizona resident, has won three straight, all title defenses, giving him the Bellator record for most consecutive heavyweight title defenses. Vassell (23-8, 1 NC), a 40-year-old England native, has won five in a row, four of them via KO/TKO.

Cyborg (26-2, 1 NC), a 38-year-old Brazilian-born fighter who lives in California, is one of the greatest women’s fighters of all time, the only MMA athlete to win titles in four major promotions (UFC, Strikeforce, Invicta and Bellator). Zingano (14-4), a 40-year-old former UFC title challenger fighting out of California, has won four straight in Bellator.