Bellator Moscow continues to take shape.
On Tuesday, promotion officials confirmed via press release that former heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov (22-1) would face a new opponent on the October card, which numerically is Bellator 269. Initially booked against Tyrell Fortune, Minakov will now face Said Sowma (7-2) at the event.
Fight Time initially reported the opponent switch.
No reason for Fortune’s withdrawal has been given. Sowma most recently won big against ex-UFC fighter Ronny Markes. Minakov has not competed since picking up a win over Tim Johnson in 2019.
Additionally, Usman Nurmagomedov, cousin of former UFC lightweight champ Khabib, has been booked opposite Patrik Pietila.
Nurmagomedov (13-0) is undefeated thus far in his pro career, and has looked strong in both his Bellator MMA outings to date. Most recently, he finished Manny Muro with a knee to the body at Bellator 263 in July.
Pietila (11-8) made his promotional debut in his last fight, back in 2019. That saw a two-fight winning streak snapped by Ryan Roddy.
Both fights have been added to the event’s main card. Andrey Koreshkov vs. Rustam Khabilov also features, while the main event sees heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko return against Tim Johnson.
The full Bellator 269 card, taking place at Moscow’s VTB Arena on October 23, 2021, currently breaks down as follows:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson
Vitaly Minakov vs. Said Sowma
Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Patrik Pietila
Andrey Koreshkov vs Rustam Khabilov
Brian Moore vs. Nikita Mikhailov
Grachik Bozinyan vs. Ross Houston
Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie lelo Page
Alexey Shurkevich vs. Christian Eckerlin
