Blair Tugman

Bellator 178: Straus vs. Pitbull 4 took place on April 21, 2017 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut . The event aired live on Spike TV. Bellator returned to Mohegan Sun with a Featherweight world title fight pitting Daniel Straus against Patricio "Pitbull" Freire as the main event of Bellator 178. Straus and Freire have fought three times before; Freire won one by submission and once by decision, while Straus most recently won by decision. A middleweight bout between Ed Ruth and Aaron Goodwine was originally scheduled for this card, but failed to materialize. Ruth instead faced David Mundell.

Bellator 182: Koreshkov vs. Njokuani took place on August 25, 2017, at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV. The main event featured former Bellator Welterweight Champion Andrey Koreshkov versus Chidi Njokuani. It was originally scheduled as a welterweight bout, but Njokuani missed weight so the bout was contested at a catchweight of 175 pounds.