Melvin Manhoef | Bellator MMA
Bellator 230, Bellator: Milan and Bellator Kickboxing 12 all take place on October 12th.
Bellator return to Italy for the seventh time later this year on Saturday, October 12th from the Allianz Cloud and will feature three different cards. This is the promotion’s debut in Milan as they continue their expansion across Europe, and the Italian fans will be treated to a night consisting of Bellator 230: Carvalho v Nemkov, Bellator Milan: Manhoef v Bahati and Bellator Kickboxing 12.
Former Bellator middleweight titleholder, Rafael Carvalho (16-3), steps up to the light heavyweight division as he takes on Vadim Nemkov (10-2) in the Bellator 230 headliner. With no clear number one contender for Ryan Bader’s light heavyweight belt in sight, the winner of this bout may position himself at the front of the line for the title shot. Following two losses to Gegard Mousasi and Lyoto Machida, Carvalho got back into the win column last month when he defeated Chidi Njokuani by unaminous decision. The Russian, Nemkov, is on a five fight winning streak and holds victories over previous Bellator light heavyweight champions, Liam McGeary and Phil Davis, in his last two outings. Bellator 230 will air on tape-delay in the US at 9pm ET/8pm CT on Paramount Network and will be simulcast on DAZN.
The fifth installment of the Bellator European Series also takes place on the night which features another light heayweight clash between Dutch striker, Melvin Manhoef (31-14-1, 2NC) and Yannick Bahati (9-4, 1NC). Manhoef returned to the cage after a two year layoff in June where he defeated Englishman, Kent Kauppinen, by a unanimous decision. He has made it clear that he doesn’t have many more fights left in him and is targeting a retirement bout in Holland next year. Bahati made his Bellator debut in Birmingham earlier this year and he displayed his ground skills against Amir Dadovic to earn a first round submission victory. This is arguably the biggest opportunity of his career and is a chance for him to become more recognisable to fans around the world. Bellator: Milan will stream live on the Bellator Mobile App in the US at 5pm ET/4pm CT and will be aired live on Channel 5 in the UK at 10pm. Alessio Sakara will also fight on that portion of the card.
Bellator Kickboxing 12: Varga v Faustino will open the evening’s action and sees current featherweight champion, Gabriel Varga (17-6), defend his title against Palermo, Italy’s Cristian Faustino (48-18) in the headliner. In the co-main event, Chingiz Allazov (55-3, 1NC), competes in a 158lbs catchweight bout against Sudsakorn (289-54-4). Bellator Kickboxing 12 will be streamed on the Bellator Mobile App live at 11am ET/10am CT.