Usman Nurmagomedov gets opponent for Bellator 269; Vitaly Minakov meets new foe

Bellator 269 is shaping up.

On Tuesday, the promotion announced a handful of additions – and a change – the Oct. 23 card scheduled for VTB Arena in Moscow. Included in the latest lineup is Usman Nurmagomedov (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) who takes his third career Bellator assignment against Patrik Pietila (11-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Nurmagomedov, , most recently competed at Bellator 263 in July when he defeated Manny Muro via first-round TKO. The younger cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Usman Nurmagomedov has been praised by Bellator president Scott Coker as one of the promotion’s top rising stars.

Additionally, with Tyrell Fortune out, the former Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov (11-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) now meets former Titan FC champion Said Sowma (7-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). The fight was first reported by Russian outlet Fight Time.

Minakov, 36, has not competed since August 2019 when he knocked out Tim Johnson in 105 seconds at Bellator 225. The victory returned him into the win column after his first career loss, which came against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216 in February 2019.

Sowma, 28, rides into the matchup the momentum of his first Bellator victory. After a unanimous decision loss to Tyrell Fortune in November 2020, Sowma knocked out former UFC and PFL fighter Ronny Markes in 69 seconds at Bellator 262 in July.

The promotion also announced four prelim fights have also been added to the card including Nikita Mikhailov (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMM A) vs. Brian Moore (14-7 MMA, 5-3 BMMA), Grachik Bozinyan (11-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) vs. Ross Houston (8-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), Irina Alekseeva (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Stephanie Ielo Page (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA, and Christian Eckerlin (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Alexey Shurkevich (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

The Mikhailov vs. Moore matchup was first reported by Severe MMA, while the Bozinyan vs. Houston fight was first reported by Armenia MMA.

Bellator 269 takes place Oct. 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the Bellator 269 lineup includes:

• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson
• Vitaly Minakov vs. Said Sowma
• Rustam Khabilov vs. Andrey Koreshkov
• Nikita Mikhailov vs. Brian Moore
• Grachik Bozinyan vs. Ross Houston
• Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Ielo Page
• Christian Eckerlin vs. Alexey Shurkevich