Phil Baroni will finally make his Bellator debut.
“The New York Badass”, who was supposed to make his promotional debut in May, will enter the Bellator cage for the first time on July 25, when he takes on fellow long-time UFC veteran Karo Parisyan at Bellator 122 in Temecula, Calif. Sherdog first reported the news.
Baroni (15-17) enters the bout in a two-fight skid. The PRIDE veteran, who hasn’t competed since a first-round loss to Nobutatsu Suzuki at One FC 9, has won only one of his last five fights, when he scored a devastating knockout over Rodrigo Ribeiro at One FC 5 in 2012.
Parisyan (23-10, 1 no-contest) returns to Bellator 15 months after a second-round TKO victory over Strikeforce veteran Ron Keslar. With a 4-4 record since his third run in the UFC, 1-1 under the Bellator banner, “The Heat” holds victories over Nick Diaz, Matt Serra and Chris Lytle.
Bellator 122 takes place at the Pechanga Resort & Casino and features a pair of tournament finals. Brett Cooper takes on Brandon Halsey in the middleweight division, while Andrey Koreshkov battles Adam McDonough at 170 pounds.