Karakhanyan (31-13-1, 1NC) is set to face off with Manchester Top Team’s Kane Mousah (13-4) at the event, set for September 23, 2022 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

Bellator officials announced the booking on Tuesday.

Karakhanyan, a former WSOF featherweight champ who also competed in Bellator’s 145lb grand prix, started his second run with the promotion in 2015, after an early-career stint in 2010-11. Returning to the lightweight division in 2020, Karakhanyan has posted a 3-3 record there, but has dropped his last two fights, most recently losing to Adam Piccolotti this past February.

Manchester, England’s Mousah, who previously competed for BAMMA and ACB, joined the Bellator MMA fold in 2019. He’s gone 2-2 with the company to date, losing a decision to Davy Gallon back in October in his most recent outing.

Bellator’s second Dublin card of 2022 features a light heavyweight showdown between veterans Yoel Romero and Melvin Manhoef. The event will air on Showtime in the U.S., and has the following bouts currently reported:

• Yoel Romero vs. Melvin Manhoef
• Brett Johns vs. James Gallagher
• Peter Queally vs. Benson Henderson
• Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Kane Mousah
• Brian Moore vs. Arivaldo Silva
• Kenny Mokhonoana vs. TBD
• Sinead Kavanagh vs. TBD

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“I had this layoff. I had some questions about the health of my body going into this thing. I was a little bit I guess shell shook from my last fight with Sidney (Outlaw) where I go out and within the first exchange I tore my knee which required surgery later on. So I was a little bit I guess, I don’t know, a little ring rust was taking effect. It’s not me making excuses or saying anything why I didn’t strike with the guy,” Piccolotti told the media at his post-fight scrum.

Karakhanyan (31-13) is a high-level striker that puts any opponent on their toes and Piccolotti knew that going into Bellator 274.

“I wasn’t going to strike with him. He’s a freaking dog he brings the power. So it was always going to be wrestling it was always going to be jiu jitsu, but I would like to showcase that sometime real soon.”

After a long layoff Piccolotti knew it would take a bit of getting used to being back in the cage and in a big fight against a formidable opponent.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been uncomfortable since i’ve been in that cage and felt that pressure and that anticipation. Man it felt good to be back in front of a crowd. To look out of those curtains before the fight started and to see thousands of people cheering and screaming. I even heard some USA chants which I never really hear. I’m a fan of that I love that, no offense to any other country of course, but I’m proud of where I’m from. It’s everything man, it’s getting back in the cage, shaking it up. I’m ready to get back in there again.”

“I feel pretty good right now we’ll see how the night goes. I’d love to be back in that cage when we fight at home in San Jose coming up here in April.”

Piccolotti is back in action and back in the cage with a mission to get to the top. A big fight would be ideal next.

“Top 5 I don’t care. There’s a lot of good guys in my division right now, but you know, there’s no one better than me.”

Watch the full Bellator 274 post-fight press conference with Adam Piccolotti above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

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He might be known as “Insane” to MMA fans, but Karakhanyan isn’t wrong about his submission prowess. His arm-triangle choke victory over Kiefer Crosbie on Saturday was the 16th sub of the 36-year old’s career.

There was a bit of trash talk ahead of the fight, on the part of SBG Ireland’s Crosbie. It apparently backfired. “He was saying that my experience ain’t sh*t, and he was saying that he’s a big daddy,” Karakhanyan said with a laugh following the event, which went down at The Forum in L.A. “I was expecting some of this stuff, coming from SBG guys. But after the fight, it’s all respect.”

“I appreciate him trying to trash talk me, which didn’t phase me,” Karakhanyan added. He even offered to go over to SBG Ireland and train with the team there. And he feels the trash talk might just be a confidence booster. “It’s like a little psychology. They’re trying to build themselves up maybe. Or maybe he’s just around Conor McGregor in the gym, so it’s normal.”

“At the end of the day, this is entertainment,” Karakhanyan continued. “Maybe if I just started, I’d be like him. But I’ve been doing this so long, it just doesn’t make sense.”

There is a line when it comes to trash talk, Georgi Karakhanyan added. Crosbie didn’t cross it. But bringing up family is a non-starter with him. “I was born in Russia. We don’t touch the family. Especially with the way I was growing up. Family, mother, kids, son, we just don’t trash talk family. Because it can elevate to different things.”

With two straight wins in Bellator’s lightweight division, and 3-1 in his past four fights, the veteran is now looking to head overseas for his next bout. “I’m trying to get on that Russia card, just to show Bellator how many fans I got there. I’m trying to get on the London card. I know they have Ireland, if Patricky [Pitbull] and Peter Queally don’t fight, I would like a shot at Peter Quelly, fight him,” said Karakhanyan. Having previously been booked against Adam Piccolotti, that’s another fight he’s interested in. “This switch to 155 is not just for me to be a fighter. I’m trying to get the title.”

Being at 155lbs “feels awesome,” Karakhanyan told Cageside Press on Saturday. “I’m following a strict carnivore diet, I’ve been a carnivore for nine months, I feel awesome. The weight cut is easy. It’s not like 45, 45 man, I was dying. So I feel awesome, I feel great.”

Having lost numerous fights at the L.A. Forum, he also recognized that at Bellator 263, “this one was big.”

For good reason. “Because I fought here, Emmanuel Sanchez, I lost. I fought here, Henry Corrales, I lost. I fought here, A.J. McKee, I lost in eight seconds. It was devastating,” Karakhanyan admitted. “Before I would walk through this hallway, I would be like ‘oh man,’ when I would look at the names. This time, when I was walking around, I was seeing some crazy sh*t, some crazy thoughts coming into my head.” Those crazy thoughts resulted in him having a “don’t give a f*ck” attitude, with a do-or-die mentality.

“As a fighter, our opponents don’t beat us. We beat ourselves. And I had to stay really strong in there.”

Watch the full Bellator 263 post-fight press scrum with Georgi Karakhanyan above.

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“There’s going to be 18-thousand people and it’s going to be mental, but at the end of the day when you step into that cage I don’t give a sh*t who’s outside that cage. My only concern is the man in front of me. It doesn’t really matter it’s all noise at the end of the day. And noise doesn’t come into competition. Outside noise is just outside noise. Booing, cheering, supporting, doesn’t matter. My goal is to win a fight. There’s only one man that i’m intersted in beating and that’s the man in front of me,” Crosbie said.

Crosbie (8-2) is coming off a TKO loss to Charlie Leary where a bad cut forced a doctor stoppage at the end of the first round. Crosbie doesn’t count that as a loss.

“I am trying to get back in the win column. The last fight wasn’t a loss. It was a no-contest in my opinion. I didn’t lose that fight. I mean I haven’t really been beaten in a professional fight so I’m just looking forward to winning again to be honest. Hopefully I don’t get any little cuts that the doctor is going to stop this time. But this time I’m not going to get touched I don’t think so. I’m looking forward to just getting in there and getting the job done, yeah.”

Crosbie takes on Georgi Karakhanyan (30-11-1) at Bellator 263 from The Forum in Los Angeles, CA on  Friday night.

“It’s such an iconic arena. I was only looking at ‘The Last Dance’ the other night where Michael Jordan. The Forum came on in and he was playing the LA Lakers in like a big final of a basketball game. It just hit me ‘I’m fighting here in four days’ that’s mad, you know what I mean?”

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“Just use my experience, you know, I’m a vet. This is my eighteenth fight with Bellator. I have over 40 professional fights. It’s up to me where I take the fight,” Karakhanyan said during Wednesday’s media day promoting the event.

Karakhanyan (30-11) has fought names like Myles Jury, A.J. McKee and Emmanuel Sanchez. He’ll rely on that experience to take on Crosbie who is heading into his 11th fight.

“It’s a perfect match-up, he has 10 fights total. I should be able to take this anywhere I want. Saturday night comes, I’m going to do that.”

Crosbie (8-2) is coming off a TKO loss vs Charlie Leary at Bellator Milan in October 2020. Karakhanyan admitted he has the upper hand in the ground game, but said he preferred to make it a stand up fight.

“That’s true, but I would like to keep it standing. He comes forward, I come forward. I think that fight with Charlie Leary was a great fight. The difference with me is if I smell him getting tired I’m for sure going for a kill. Me as a vet I’ve seen those so if I smell that, it’s over.”

In the middle of a pandemic Karakhanyan was able to fight with no crowds in the arena, but he’s eager to get in there with a full crowd. Still, he admits he’ll miss some of what having no fans brought to the fight.

“I guess the only thing I’ll miss is hearing my opponent’s coaches because that’s what I would do a lot. Whatever they would tell to my opponent, I would do to my opponent. But now with the crowd it might be a little hard. But it doesn’t matter it’s still the same mission. Whoever is in front of me I’m there to kill them.”

Watch the full Bellator 263 media day press scrum with Georgi Karakhanyan above. The event takes place this Saturday, July 31 at The Forum in Los Angeles. The main card airs on Showtime following online prelims right here on Cageside Press.

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Yes, the card was built around the arrival of Corey Anderson, the latest addition to the promotion’s strong light heavyweight division. Taking on Melvin Manhoef, in the Dutch fighter’s penultimate fight (retirement looms for Manhoef), Anderson was clearly the star of the show.

But the rest of the Bellator 251 card was all about the young talents. Undefeated fighters like Austin Vanderford and Alex Polizzi. A pair of fighters making their professional debuts in Jaylon Bates (bantamweight) and Sumiko Inaba (women’s flyweight).

Not to mention the return of Tyrell Fortune, looking to get back in the win column after a loss and a no contest in his last two outings. And LFA champ Bryce Logan returning to Bellator and getting a step up in competition against Georgi Karakhanyan.

The Bellator 251 preliminary card kicks off at 4:45 PM ET, going down live from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. A live stream is available in the embed above. Full results will be available below.

Bellator 251: Manhoef vs. Anderson Preliminary Card Results

Georgi Karakhanyan def. Bryce Logan by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Julius Angelickas def. Alex Polizzi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Janay Harding def. Jessica Miele by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ali Zebian def. Piankhi Zimmerman by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Jaylon Bates def. Joe Supino by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)
Sumiko Inaba def. Jessica Ruiz by TKO, Round 1, 4:59

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In recent years, however, the former WSOF featherweight champ had struggled with the weight cut, and after winning a bout against Paul Redmond in February, it appeared like lightweight was the future for “Insane.”

Jury was concerned about his own future at Bellator 243. “Fury” opened on the outside against Karakhanyan, who took a big overhand swing between leg kicks in the early going. Jury fired back, and mixed in some kicks as well. Karakhanyan caught a kick and countered, continuing to threaten with his right and work his jab. Fairly evenly matched early, Karakhanyan fell back on his strength, pressuring Jury into the fence while working on a takedown. Jury employed a whizzer to keep upright, and while he’d escape, Karakhanyan went right back to the same approach. Jury would drop a few elbows in response. Karakhanyan would end up cut open by the end of the round, however. Jury would land a knee in the clinch in the last twenty seconds.

Jury opened the second round with a couple of kicks, to the body, outside of the leg, mixing them up in general. Karakhanyan’s overhand right would flash, but he continued to eat leg kicks, even an oblique kick or two. The teep kick was there for Jury, and a knee in the clinch. Jury appeared to be in his comfort zone, pulling ahead in terms of volume; Karakhanyan seemed content to load up on his right hand, looking for the KO. He’d land that right with about two minutes remaining, but it wasn’t flush, and Jury stayed standing, back to the fence. Well, until Karakhanyan took him down anyway. He could not keep Jury down, however, with “Fury” popping right back up. As the second round finished, Karakhanyan was again looking for a takedown.

Jury would land a standing elbow early in round three. As the round progressed Karakhanyan went back to hunting the takedown. But Jury would pull free, and Karakhanyan seemed to be waning. Karakhanyan, however, would jump into a guillotine attempt, which looked tight. Jury was too slick though; a maneuver that might have worked in the opening minutes didn’t late in the third. Jury pulled free, and worked on taking the back. Karakhanyan’s ground game was skilled enough to prevent that, but Jury would end up in guard on top to finish the round, and the fight.

A close one, and a second straight win for Jury, who is making the best of things in his new home.

Official Result: Myles Jury def. Georgi Karakhanyan by split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)

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Georgi Karakhanyan is more than happy to be returning to the Bellator cage this Friday night. Excited to get the call and now happy to see how persistent Bellator has been in providing a safe environment for everyone involved.

“They took this to another level,” Karakhanyan told Cageside Press. “We’ve got our own treadmills, our own portable saunas that I get to take home. I couldn’t be happier being here with Bellator.”

Even though personally, Karakhanyan believes that COVID-19 isn’t all it is cracked up to be, he is happily obliging with Bellator. During the Quarantine, he did enjoy the extra time with his children but missed being a fighter. Karakhanyan has embraced his move to lightweight, especially when it comes to the weight cut.

“I’m only seven pounds over, easy cut” Karakhanyan told us during the Bellator 243 media day. “At featherweight those last two years were miserable. I’d fight with a poker face, didn’t ever have time to recover so 55 is home.”

“Insane” is set to face off with former UFC vet, Myles Jury, on Friday night. Jury is a winner of only one of his last four.

“He’s fought a lot of tough UFC fighters, he’s a tough fighter” Georgi explained. “I am looking for a finish, He’s a black belt but I feel like moving to 155 has helped me focus on my craft and my skills.”

Georgi wasn’t sure where a win on Friday night puts him in the division, but he does know he’d love to fight Henderson at some point.

“If Ben loses, I’d love that fight” Karakhanyan said. “I have Chandler winning that fight, Henderson always starts slow. I’d fight anyone Scott Coker or Rich Chou offer me.”

Bellator 243 takes place this Friday, August 7 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The main card airs live on Paramount Network and DAZN.

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Tim Johnson vs. Matt Mitrione, and a handful of other fights, have also made their way onto the card. Now, two more solid match-ups have been added: Adam Borics is set to face Derek Campos, while Myles Jury will take on Georgi Karakhanyan.

Combate was first to report the Borics vs. Campos bout, while Jury vs. Karakhanyan was revealed by MMA Junkie.

Borics (14-1) and Campos (20-1) both took part in Bellator’s featherweight grand prix. However, with both men eliminated from that tournament, they’ll face off in a 150lb catchweight bout.

Jury (18-5) made his debut in Bellator MMA against Benson Henderson, a fight that saw the former UFC fighter known as “Fury” come up short. But he bounced back in his second outing for the promotion, defeating Brandon Girtz at Bellator 239. Karakhanyan (29–10–1, 1NC) will try his hand at lightweight after defeating Paul Redmond at Bellator 240 earlier this year.

Also on tap for Bellator 243 is Christian Edwards (3-0), a training partner of Jon Jones at Jackson-Wink MMA. He’s expected to face Ahmed Samir (1-1). Nainoa Dung (3-1) vs. Charlie Campbell (1-1), Dalton Rosta (2-0) vs. Mark Gardner (1-1), and Grant Neal (3-0 MMA) vs. Hamza Salim (5-2) have also been added to the event.

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While names like Brent Primus and Leah McCourt topped the event, there was far more action early on. Opening up the affair was a preliminary card featuring a handful of familiar names. Among them, kickboxer Richard Kiely returned, after a devastating outing against Michael ‘Venom’ Page last year. Also in action, Paul Redmond was facing featherweight grand prix alum and former WSOF champ Georgi Karakhanyan. And Richie Smullen, known to MMA fans for his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, was also in action.

Check back come fight time (11AM ET) for the Bellator 240 live stream from Dublin. Full results can be found below.

Bellator 240/Dublin Preliminary Card Results

Ilias Bulaid vs. Diego Freitas
George Hardwick def. Richard Kiely by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 3:40
Georgi Karakhanyan def. Paul Redmond by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 0:42
Danni Neilan def. Chiara Penco by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Alberth Dias def. Richie Smullen by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Will Fleury def. Justin Moore by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 4:14
Christopher Duncan def. Mateusz Piskorz by TKO (punches), Round 2, 2:43
Calum Murrie def. Dylan Logan by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:02
Blaine O’Driscoll def. Ezzoubair Bouarsa by TKO (punches), Round 1, 4:12
Ciaran Clarke def. Jamie Faulding by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
Constantin Blanita def. Asael Adjoudj by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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