Bellator 275: Gegard Mousasi v Austin Vanderford headlines Bellator's debut on BBC Three

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Born To Brawl: The rise of Leah McCourt before her Bellator fight v Sinead Kavanagh

Venue: 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland Date: Friday, 25 February
Coverage: Watch live coverage of prelims from 18:00 on BBC iPlayer and main event on BBC Three from 21:00 GMT; text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app.

Bellator makes its debut on BBC Three on Friday with MMA icon Gegard Mousasi set to kick off the new era for combat sports in the UK and Ireland.

Mousasi defends his middleweight title against undefeated contender Austin Vanderford, with the rest of the card packed with Irish and European talent.

Leah McCourt's featherweight clash with fellow Irishwoman Sinead Kavanagh has been threatening to steal the show for much of the build-up, with Brian Moore and rising star Ciaran Clarke also in action.

The fight night is live from 18:00 on BBC iPlayer and the main event begins at 21:00 on BBC Three.

'God gave me special powers for this fight' - Mousasi v Vanderford

Mousasi may be 36 years old, but the two-time Bellator champion shows no signs of slowing down heading into his 58th professional MMA fight. "God gave me special powers for this fight, and Austin's going to feel it," Mousasi said.

The Iran-born Netherlands star appears to have put his shock defeat by Rafael Lovato Jr in 2019 behind him, but with such a long and accomplished career, Mousasi has experienced a few off nights.

American Vanderford is five years younger than Mousasi, but his experience pales in comparison to the champion's incredible 48-7-2 record. Vanderford is undefeated in 11 fights, has the support of his wife and former UFC fighter Paige VanZant with him in Dublin and will be hoping his low profile will lull Mousasi into a false sense of security.

"Vanderford is very good and a dominant wrestler, he's scrappy in a good sense and forward," Irish fighter Moore said of the match-up. "Mousasi is very tactical, very experienced, he's got such good decision making and can finish you with strikes.

"He's got much more experience and I think he will play on that. The only thing that concerns me is if he takes the fight lightly, but I don't think that will happen."

Vanderford and Mousasi have cut relaxed figures in Dublin this week. When making weight the morning before the fight, Mousasi looked like he had just rolled out of bed and easily hit his mark before immediately making his exit without doing the customary pose to the cameras.

It remains to be seen if either man will be so calm once the fight starts, but Mousasi is a firm favourite and has already promised a special walk-out for the Irish crowd.

'I'm ready to take my crown' - McCourt v Kavanagh

The all-Irish fight has captured the imagination of the home supporters and it is expected to be an intriguing contest. Kavanagh, 36, is known as an excellent striker, who relies on her punching power to dominate and even finish opponents.

Usually Bellator might have to carefully co-ordinate the schedules of two domestic rivals, but there is no fear of bad blood in this rivalry. The two women are long-time friends, hugged each other at the weigh-in, but Kavanagh is putting aside their friendship for now.

She said: "I'm ready to take my crown. The first day I saw her, I gave her a hug, but now I'm all business and I'm cold."

McCourt's style is different. The Belfast native, 29, is an accomplished grappler and likely to play to her strengths by taking Kavanagh to the ground. It could be a real chess match, with Kavanagh keen to keep the fight on the feet and McCourt looking to do the opposite.

"She's going to try to take me down like everyone else does, it's nothing new, I'm prepared for this," Kavanagh added.

Kavanagh lost her world title tilt against Cris Cyborg last year and McCourt thinks a seventh win in a row would make her the top contender in the featherweight division.

"It's my destiny to be a professional world champion. No matter what path, whatever happens or which way it goes, it's inevitable," McCourt said.

"But I definitely think I should be given that opportunity if I get past Sinead. Who else is in that position in our division who has that kind of winning streak?"

Fighters to watch

Irish hearts were broken at the start of the week when local favourite Peter Queally was forced to withdraw from his fight with Kane Mousah through injury, but it is a chance for other hometown heroes to step forward.

Undefeated featherweight prospect Ciaran Clarke was promoted to the main card as a result of Queally's withdrawal and will have a chance to impress against Frenchman Abou Tounkara.

Clarke thrilled the crowd with his last appearance in Dublin in November when he pulled off a submission in the final round and Bellator are expecting big things from the 26-year-old.

The opening fight on BBC Three will be Moore against American bantamweight Jornel Lugo, who is undefeated in seven fights and has high expectations. Moore, surprisingly, is fighting in Dublin for the first time since headlining with now-featherweight champion AJ McKee in 2017.

Defeat by Nikita Mikhailov in October ended a three-fight winning streak for Moore and the 34-year-old has accepted another difficult opponent despite coming into a home showing off the back of a gut-wrenching loss.

Prelims begin at 18:00 on BBC iPlayer with Brett Johns in action looking for his first win as a Bellator fighter.

The Welshman has gone under the radar in Dublin but a win over undefeated Tajikistan native Khurshed Kakhorov would see Johns breathe life into his career after losing his promotional debut in May.

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