Photos by Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA – Cass Bell in action at Bellator 289 in December.

By Ray Hamill — Cass Bell will return to the cage and his old stomping ground on Friday evening when he faces off against Josh Hill at Bellator 292.

The experienced Humboldt County pro will fight in San Jose for the first time since the summer of 2019, returning to the SAP Center, where he won his first four pro fights, all at Bellator events.

“I’m ready for the fight, I’m excited and can’t wait,” he said. “There’s a lot of people showing up. Hopefully everybody makes it here safe.”

The 35-year-old Arcata native, who is nicknamed “The Mean Green Fighting Machine,” is 6-2 as a pro, most recently defeating Jared Scoggins with a split decision at Bellator 289 in December.

That was Bell’s first fight in 20 months and his first victory in three years, and he’ll be hoping to carry that momentum into Friday’s fight against his seasoned opponent.

Hill is just one year older than Bell but has plenty of experience with a record of 21-5, and Bell is expecting him to come out quick and try to make it a fast-paced fight.

“I think he’ll be in my face and trying to keep the pace,” Bell said of the Canadian. “My game plan is to keep my hands up and take the fight wherever he wants to take the fight.”

According to a Bellator spokesman, a second straight victory would move Bell closer to a possible title fight.

“If Bell can defeat Hill and score his second consecutive win, a path toward the rankings and future title contention becomes a lot clearer for the grizzled wrestler,” the spokesman said.

After a busy few weeks, however, Bell did not make weight on Thursday for the scheduled 135-pound showdown, although the fight will go ahead at 145.

“It was a hard cut for me this time, as I’ve been traveling a lot,” Bell said from San Jose. “But luckily they made it 145.

“Props to Hill for accepting that.”

Bell fights out of the Institute of Combat gym in Arcata and his teammate Dupree Stewart was also scheduled to fight at Bellator 292 in his pro debut.

Stewart’s fight, however, was canceled at the last minute after his opponent, Demetri Georgiades, failed to pass his pre-fight medical.

Bellator 292 will be headlined by Usman Nurmagomedov and Benson Henderson.

Bell’s fight is the fifth on the card and is expected to begin sometime between 5 and 6 p.m.

The fights will be televised live on Bellator’s YouTube page, which can be accessed here.