Bellator Paris Gains Jonas Bilharinho vs. Yves Landu Featherweight Pairing

Bellator MMA has retained the services of a high-flying, hard-swinging Brazilian.

A fighter billed as one of the more talented featherweight prospects of Brazilian MMA, Jonas Bilharinho (11-2-1) will make his Bellator debut on May 17 against Frenchman Yves Landu (20-9). The 33-year-old first made a splash on the big stage in the 2021 season of Dana White's Contender Series. While he won by spinning wheel kick, he was not signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Bilharinho spoke to Sherdog about this new fight, where he discussed his expectations of competing in a major organization and about the fight at Bellator Paris itself.

“I’m very anxious for that debut and it will be against a Frenchman in Paris,” Bilharinho told Sherdog. “It just recalled my debut in Jungle Fight where I fought a local from Sao Paulo in his homeland with all the cheering against me. But I really love to fight in that position because I like to use that mental game against my opponent. The cheering against me is something that motivates me a lot.”

After his triumphant appearance on the Contender Series, Bilharinho instead went to Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he unsuccessfully vied for the promotion’s featherweight title. The Brazilian has since won two fights in a row, but this will be his first outing in nearly 16 months. Excited to compete again, Bilharinho had plenty to say about his opponent and new organization.

“Landu is a very experienced opponent who has 30 fights,” Bilharinho analyzed. “The guy [has won five fights in a row], [is a] southpaw, [a] striker and has a very similar game to mine. It will be a clash to see who plays that game better and what strategy, the one who had disadvantage on that game, will take. I’m anxious for that debut, [because] I love Bellator and I’m really [excited] to take part of the history of that amazing event. I’m doing a great camp lead by my head coach Rafael Feijao with amazing sparring partners. Definitely I will bring my best version on [my long-awaited] Bellator debut.”

A fan of Bellator, Bilharinho watched the lightweight grand prix closely. The finals will take place on the main event of Bellator Paris between Usman Nurmagomedov and Alexandr Shabliy, and he weighed in on the closely matched affair.

“That one is hard to choose,” the Brazilian noted. “Both are very tough, it will be a war, but I believe Nurmagomedov will win because it will be an endurance fight and I see Nurmagomedov being more durable.”

With the merger of Bellator and the Professional Fighters League, the new recruit has seen other Bellator fighters cross over into the 2024 tournament. While he is not looking past his upcoming opponent, he would not say no to joining a future million-dollar PFL tourney.

“That would be like an amazing dream coming true,” Bilharinho explained. “But it has to be step-by-step. Now I’ll focus 100% in Landu, who will be a tough challenge.”