Bellator 249 lineup finalized with late additions Aviv Gozali, Andrew Kapel

The Bellator 249 lineup is finalized with two late additions to next week’s card.

On Wednesday, the promotion rounded out its return to the U.S. with a welterweight bout between Aviv Gozali and Logan Neal, a Bellator official informed MMA Junkie.

Additionally, the promotion official confirmed middleweight Tony Johnson has been replaced by Andrew Kapel, who will meet Joseph Creer in a fight first reported by Cageside Press.

Bellator 249 takes place Oct. 15 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card streams on CBS Sports Network after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Gozali (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) makes his return to the cage for the first time since November. A second-generation mixed martial artist, Gozali has won all four of his professional fights by submission. His opponent, Neal (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has one win as a professional – by submission.

Kapel (15-7 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) will look to rebound from a submission loss to John Salter at Bellator 244 in August. As for Creer (7-1-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), the 38-year-old middleweight picked up his first Bellator win against Ty Gwerder at Bellator 235 in December.

With the additions, the Bellator 249 lineup includes:

• Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe – for Bellator women’s featherweight title
• Patricky Freire vs. Jaleel Willis
• Ricky Bandejas vs. Leandro Higo
• Saad Awad vs. Mandel Nallo
• Curtis Millender vs. Joe Schilling
• Albert Gonzales vs. Kastriot Xhema
• Christian Edwards vs. Hamza Salim
• Kyle Crutchmer vs. Kemran Lachinov
• Joseph Creer vs. Andrew Kapel
• Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Mike Kimbel
• Steve Mowry vs. Shawn Teed
• Aviv Gozali vs. Logan Neal