Fresh off a successful move to middleweight, undefeated prospect Austin Vanderford will make his international debut for Bellator.
The Viacom-owned promotion on Wednesday confirmed a seven-bout card set for Nov. 14 at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv. The event airs in the U.S. via tape delay on Friday, Nov. 15 on Paramount Network and will also be streamed on DAZN.
Vanderford, the husband of UFC star Paige VanZant, stopped Joseph Creer this past month at Bellator 225 to pick up his first win at 185 pounds after a run at welterweight. He now takes a trip across the pond to face Grachik Bozinyan (10-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who is making his promotional debut.
According Tapology, Bozinyan is affiliated with the “Bingo Boom Fight Club” and is coming off a recent loss.
On Monday, Israeli welterweight Haim Gozali (11-6 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) let slip the promotional poster for the event, which highlights a heavyweight main event featuring Sergei Kharitonov (30-7 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) against former 205-pound title challenger Linton Vassell (19-8 MMA, 7-6 BMMA).
Bellator also has confirmed the return of lightweight veteran Roger Huerta (24-11-1 MMA, 1-4 BMMA), who faces Bellator newcomer Sidney Outlaw (13-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
Gozali’s opponent at Bellator 234 is not yet confirmed, but he’s set to appear on the card alongside his son, lightweight up-and-comer Aviv Gozali (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), who’s fresh off a record-setting 11-second submission at Bellator 225.
Headliner Kharitonov hopes to build momentum after routing Matt Mitrione at Bellator 225. U.K. native Vassell needs a rebound amid a three-fight losing streak. Back-to-back losses to current two-division champ Ryan Bader and Phil Davis led Vassell to move up to heavyweight. But in his divisional debut, he lost a unanimous decision to Valentin Moldavsky.
Bellator also announced new contracts with three Israeli fighters to exclusive multi-fight agreements: Raz Bring (4-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), Adam Keresh (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Simon Smotritsky (5-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
The current Bellator 234 lineup includes:
- Sergei Kharitonov vs. Linton Vassell
- Roger Huerta vs. Sidney Outlaw
- Austin Vanderford vs. Grachik Bozinyan
- Olga Rubin vs. Sinead Kavanagh
- Haim Gozali vs. TBA
- Aviv Gozali vs. TBA
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