ITALIAN ALESSIO SAKARA CHALLENGES RAFAEL CARVALHO FOR MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD TITLE AT BELLATOR 190
LOS ANGELES – Bellator returns to Florence, Italy on Saturday, December 9, when both Bellator MMA and Bellator Kickboxing, along with Oktagon, emanate from the Nelson Mandela Forum for another huge evening of combat sports action.
Bellator 190 will air free on SPIKE at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and will be immediately followed by Bellator Kickboxing 8. Tickets for the event start at just €30 and are available at Bellator.com.
Bellator 190 will be headlined by current middleweight champ Rafael Carvalho (14-1), who will defend his title against Italy’s popular knockout artist, Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara (19-11, 2 NC). In addition, Brandon Girtz (14-7) takes on Luca Jelcic (10-2) at lightweight, while Mihail Nica (6-0) meets Carlos Miranda (10-3) in second lightweight clash. A women’s flyweight offering rounds out the card when Lena Ovchynnikova (12-4, 1 NC) battles Alejandra Lara (6-1).
Meanwhile, Bellator Kickboxing 8 boasts a pair of world champions in Raymond Daniels (12-3) and Kevin Ross (45-12) taking on Giannis Boukis (27-1) and Hamza Imane (49-12-2) respectively, in non-title fights. Other kickboxing stars are on display as Joe “Stitch ‘Em Up” Schilling (22-9) challenges Filipino Verlinden (44-18-1), Aussie legend John Wayne Parr (97-32) competes for the 130th time versus Piergiulio Paolucci (24-5-1) and Canadian featherweight Gabriel Varga (13-5) rounds out the card in a matchup with Roberto Georghita (30-6-3).
Complete Bellator 190: Carvalho vs. Sakara Card:
Middleweight World Title Main Event: Rafael Carvalho (14-1) vs. Alessio Sakara (19-11, 2 NC)
Lightweight Main Card Bout: Brandon Girtz (14-7) vs. Luka Jelcic (10-2)
Women’s Flyweight Main Card Bout: Lena Ovchynnikova (12-4, 1 NC) vs. Alejandra Lara (6-1)
Lightweight Main Card Bout: Mihail Nica (6-0) vs. Carlos Miranda (10-3)
Preliminary Card:
Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Gregory Babene (18-11) vs. Tony Zanko (1-4)
Complete Bellator Kickboxing 8: Daniels vs. Boukis Card:
Welterweight Main Event (non-title): Raymond Daniels (12-3) vs. Giannis Boukis (27-1)
Middleweight Main Card Bout: Joe Schilling (22-9) vs. Filipino Verlinden (44-18-1)
161 lb. Catchweight Main Card Bout: John Wayne Parr (97-32) vs. Piergiulio Paolucci (24-5-1)
Lightweight Main Card Bout (non-title): Kevin Ross (45-12) vs. Hamza Imane (49-12-2)
Featherweight Main Card Bout: Gabriel Varga (13-5) vs. Roberto Gheorghita (30-6)
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