Breaking: Leah McCourt vs Dayana Silva added to Bellator 285

Image credit: Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA.

Bellator 285 has received another boost as ranked featherweights Leah “The Curse” McCourt (#5) and Dayana Silva (#9) are set to lock horns. Multiple sources confirmed the matchup to SevereMMA.com, which will take place on Friday 23rd September in Dublin’s 3Arena.

Belfast fighter Leah McCourt (6-2) will look to return to winning ways, after suffering a Unanimous Decision defeat to fellow Irishwoman Sinéad Kavanagh on Bellator’s most recent Dublin show. The loss to Kavanagh was McCourt’s first since her pro debut back in 2017, and it ended a 6-fight winning streak that included victories over Manon Fiorot, Janay Harding and Jessica Borga. Most recently, McCourt appears to be working on some sort of secret project with Bellator in the Caribbean.

Brazilian Dayana Silva (10-7) shares a common opponent with McCourt in Janay Harding. Silva defeated the Australian fighter via Unanimous Decision at Bellator 279 in Hawaii last month. Since joining the Bellator ranks in 2021, Silva has struggled to gain consistency, dropping her first two fights to former champion Julia Budd and Arlene Blencowe. Following her first promotional win against Harding, the 31-year-old will be hoping to notch consecutive wins for the first time since 2015 when she face “The Curse”.

Bellator 285 will take place on Friday September 23rd in Dublin’s 3Arena, headlined by a clash of ranked lightweights between former UFC champion Benson Henderson and former Bellator title contender Peter Queally. Full card details below.

BELLATOR DUBLIN: HENDERSON VS. QUEALLY MAIN CARD:

SHOWTIME (U.S.) | BBC Three & BBC iPlayer (U.K.) | Virgin Media (IRELAND)

Friday, September 23 – 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT

Lightweight Bout: #3-Benson Henderson (29-11)vs. #5-Peter Queally (13-6)
Light Heavyweight Bout: Melvin Manhoef (32-15-1) vs. #8-Yoel Romero (14-6)
Bantamweight Bout: #7-James Gallagher (11-2) vs. Brett Johns (18-3) 
Featherweight Bout: #3-Mads Burnell (16-4) vs. #6-Pedro Carvalho (12-6)
Women’s Featherweight Bout: #5-Leah McCourt (6-2) vs. #9-Dayana Silva (10-7)

BELLATOR DUBLIN: HENDERSON VS. QUEALLY PRELIMINARY CARD:

BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV (US)
BBC iPlayer (UK) | Virgin Media Two & Virgin Media Sport (IRELAND) 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT

Featherweight Bout: Ciaran Clarke (5-0) vs. Georges Sasu (5-2)
Bantamweight Bout: Brian Moore (14-9) vs. Arivaldo Lima da Silva (19-10)
Lightweight Bout: Georgi Karakhanyan (31-13-1) vs. Kane Mousah (13-4)
Lightweight Bout: Darragh Kelly (1-0) vs. Kye Stevens (3-1, 1 NC)
Featherweight Bout: Kenny Mokhonoana (3-0) vs. Alex Bodnar (4-1)
Featherweight Bout: Asael Adjoudj(3-1) vs. Adam Gustab (6-5)