It’s one British fighter out, one in as Stefano Paterno gets a new opponent for his hometown promotional debut at Bellator Europe 5 in Milan.
Former Cage Warriors welterweight champion Paterno (12-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was due to take on Galore Bofando at the Allianz Cloud on October 12, but Bellator officials confirmed to MMA Junkie that the London Shootfighters welterweight has withdrawn from the card, with fellow countryman Ashley Reece signing on the dotted line to replace him.
Known as “The Beast”, Reece (8-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) has appeared twice under the Bellator Europe banner, having picked up back-to-back victories at Bellator Europe 1 in Newcastle and Bellator Europe 2 in Birmingham. Now the former Full Contact Contender veteran is set to make the third appearance of his Bellator career as he steps in to face Paterno on less than a month’s notice.
Bellator officials also confirmed they are working behind the scenes to fill another vacant slot on the card, with Italian welterweight Giorgio Pietrini ruled out of his fight with Sweden’s Oliver Enkamp on the Bellator 230 portion of the card in Milan.
Enkamp (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) impressed last time out at Bellator 223 in London in June when he finished Walter Gahadza via first-round rear-naked choke to make a winning start to life as a Bellator fighter. The 28-year-old Stockholm native now faces a wait to discover the identity of his new opponent for the October 12 show.
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