Vitaly Minakov remains on the Bellator 225 card, but he will not be facing Javy Ayala.
Minakov and Ayala were scheduled to do battle tonight (Aug. 24) in a heavyweight clash. The bout would’ve served as Bellator 225’s co-main event. Ayala was pulled from the card and is being replaced by Timothy Johnson. David McGrath first broke the news.
A Bellator official later told Bloody Elbow that medical tests under the Connecticut Boxing Commission are the cause of Ayala’s removal. Johnson was set to meet Azunna Anyanwu on the prelims tonight. With Johnson stepping up to take on Minakov, Anyanwu is off tonight’s card.
Johnson has gone 2-2 in his last four outings. He picked up wins over Daniel Omielanczuk and Marcelo Golm, but was defeated by Junior Albini and Cheick Kongo. When Johnson shares the cage with Minakov, it’ll be his second bout under the Bellator banner.
MMA News will be providing live coverage of Bellator 225. You can join us for a live stream of the prelims beginning at 5:45 p.m. ET. The main card will air live on Paramount Network and DAZN at 9 p.m. ET. Headlining Bellator 225 will be a heavyweight tilt between Matt Mitrione and Sergei Kharitonov.
