Bellator 219 Headline Bouts Changed

Bellator 219 has undergone some changes after it was announced that an injury that has forced Lorenz Larkin out his planned main event bout with Andrey Koreshkov.

Bellator 219’s new main event will feature Saad Award taking on Brandon Girtz, while the co-main event sees a lightweight bout with the returning former featherweight champion Daniel Straus facing Shane Krutchen.

Awad was last in action back at Bellator 208 in October, losing a unanimous decision to Benson Henderson, a loss that snapped a four-fight win streak for Awad. Girtz last competed at Bellator 197 last April, losing to Michael Chandler via technical submission in a bout he took on short notice, replacing then-lightweight champion Brent Primus. Girtz has lost four of his last five bouts.

Straus has not competed since a near-fatal motorcycle accident in December 2017. Straus has lost his most recent two fights — losing the Bellator featherweight title to Patricio “Pitbull” Freire at Bellator 178 in April 2017 and losing to Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 184 six months later.

Krutchen, who’s 12-4 as a pro, made his Bellator debut at Bellator 192 in January 2018, getting knocked out by Aaron Pico in 37 seconds.

Original Story: MMA Fighting