Former welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov is set for a return at Bellator 203 in Italy.
Koreshkov (20-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) meets promotional newcomer Vaso Bakocevic (33-17-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
Bellator officials announced the fight via tass.ru.
Bellator 203 takes place July 14 at Foro Italico in Rome. The card, which also includes a slate of Bellator Kickboxing bouts, airs on Paramount (via same-day delay) following prelims on MMAjunkie, though the full fight card and bout order haven’t been finalized.
Koreshkov, a 27-year-old Russian, is No. 15 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings. He recently rebounded from a November 2016 title loss to Douglas Lima with an August 2017 TKO victory over veteran striker Chidi Njokuani, who badly missed weight for the fight. Koreshkov is now 7-1 since a 2013 title loss to then-champ Ben Askren, which marked his first Bellator title shot.
Koreshkov now meets Bakocevic, a 28-year-old from Montenegro who turned pro in 2010. He makes his Bellator debut while riding a seven-fight winning streak that included an April TKO win over Jivko Stoimenov (7-1 at the time). He’s picked up 25 stoppages (17 knockouts) in 33 career wins.
The latest Bellator 203 card now includes:
- Champ Patricio Freire vs. Daniel Weichel – for featherweight title
- Alessio Sakara vs. Jamie Sloane
- Vaso Bakocevic vs. Andrey Koreshkov
- Will Fleury vs. Massimiliano Sammarco
Full story here:
Andrey Koreshkov vs. Vaso Bakocevic set for Bellator 203 in Italy
