Bellator Brings MMA And Kickboxing Back To Italy
On December 1st, Bellator returns to Italy, as Bellator 211 and Bellator Kickboxing 11 air from the RDS Stadium Genova in Genova, Italy.
In the main event of Bellator 211 Alessio Sakara returns to the Bellator cage in his second fight at 205 pounds against Kent Kauppinen.
Sakara looks to start a win streak following his Bellator 203 win over Jamie Sloan. Sakara, a native of Italy makes his fifth appearance inside the Bellator cage, all of them in his home nation. His biggest opportunity coming at Bellator 190 when he faced then middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho, who dropped Sakara in the first round.
Kauppinen looks to stop a two fight skid against Sakara, after being dealt back-to-back submission losses while fighting for BAMMA and in his Bellator debut at Bellator 200.
Prior to Bellator 211, Bellator Kickboxing present its 11th event, exclusively on the Bellator App.
In the co-main event, middleweight contender Karim Ghajji returns to Bellator in a welterweight showdown against Yuri Bessmentry.
Last seen at Bellator Kickboxing 7, Ghajji looks to set himself up for a rematch against welterweight champion Raymond Daniels. Daniels defeated Ghajji in San Jose after the doctor would stop the fight following the first round.
Bessmertny makes his Bellator debut, and walks in against Ghajji with a 41-19-2 record.
In the main event Bellator featherweight champion Gabriel Varga looks to have a successful first defense against Shan Cangelosi.
Varga makes his fourth appearance inside the Bellator ring, taking two straight wins by ref stoppage, including his championship victory over Kevin Ross at Bellator Kickboxing 10 in Rome.
Bellator 211 Main Event:
205 lbs.: Alessio Sakara (20-12, 2 NC) vs. Kent Kauppinen (10-4)
Bellator 211 Main Card (4 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Hesdy Gerges (50-20-1 kickboxing) vs. Domingos Barros (5-0 MMA)
170 lbs.: Kiefer Crosbie (4-0) vs. Orlando D’Ambrosio (7-3)
185 lbs.: Alen Amedovski (7-0) vs. Ibrahim Mane (7-1)
155 lbs.: Luca Vitali (11-4) vs. Luka Jelcic (10-3)Bellator 211 ‘Prelims’ Undercard:
170 lbs.: Andrea Fusi (6-4) vs. Walter Pugliesi (4-0)
170 lbs.: Georgio Pietrini (14-4-1) vs. Nemanja Milakovic (5-3)Bellator 11 Kickboxing (12 p.m. ET – Bellator app exclusive):
145 lbs.: Gabriel Varga (16-6) vs. Shan Cangelosi (10-6)
170 lbs.: Karim Ghajji (98-15-1) vs. Yuri Bessmertny (41-19-2)
170 lbs.: Raymond Daniels (34-3) vs. Zakaria Laaouatni
176 lbs.: Gabriele Casella vs. Dani Traore
145 lbs.: Tiziano Campus vs. Younes Rahmouni
158 lbs.: Christian Zahe vs. Samuel ToscanoBellator Kickboxing 11 ‘Prelims’ Undercard:
170 lbs.: Sabir Temirkhnov vs. Matteo Costa
155 lbs.: Giacomo Licheri vs. Filippo Solheid
125 lbs.: Matteo Di Luca vs. Giacomo D’Aquino