Bellator 243 Loses Two Preliminary Bouts from Friday’s Card

Bellator 243 is down two preliminary fights heading into Friday night.

Joel Bauman, who was scheduled to face Taylor Johnson at middleweight, and Ahmed Samir Hefny, who was slated to meet Christian Edwards at 210 pounds, have both withdrawn from their respective bouts for “undisclosed reasons.”

Neither Johnson nor Edwards will receive a replacement opponent, and as a result, both fights have been scrapped. Sherdog.com confirmed the cancellations with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com.

Johnson and Taylor will reportedly be compensated without fighting, though specific financial terms are unknown.

Bellator 243 will proceed with 10 bouts at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday night. The card is headlined by a lightweight rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson. The main card airs on Paramount Network and Dazn at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT, while the prelims stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel at 6:45 p.m. ET/3:45 p.m. PT.