Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov makes his long awaited return to defend his title against Alexandr Shabliy at a rescheduled fight now taking place at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Calif. on Sept. 7.
Promotion officials confirmed the matchup to MMA Fighting on Tuesday following an initial report from Brian Martin on Twitter.
Undefeated as a pro, Nurmagomedov became one of the fastest rising stars on the Bellator roster while running roughshod over the competition at 155 pounds. Unfortunately, his career has stalled lately after he faced a six-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance found in medication he was prescribed by a physician.
While that didn’t cost him the title, Nurmagomedov’s win over Brent Primus was overturned to a no-contest. He was then scheduled to return against Shabliy in May but suffered an injury that knocked him out of the fight.
Now Nurmagomedov prepares to fight for the first time in almost a year when he puts his title up for grabs against Shabliy, who comes into the title bout with an impressive 24-3 record including a perfect 5-0 mark in Bellator.
Most recently, Shabliy dispatched former lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull by unanimous decision to put himself in a position to fight for gold.
Nurmagomedov vs. Shabliy headlines the upcoming Bellator card in September with more fights expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The card airs live on Max in the United States.
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