The Bellator middleweight championship will be on the line in the main event of Bellator Dublin, as the promotion returns to the Emerald Isle on Saturday, September 23.
The city’s famous 3Arena will play host to the event, as middleweight champion Johny Eblen will look to make the first defense of his 185-pound title.
“The Human Cheat Code” will put his title on the line against England’s number-one contender Fabian Edwards, with “The Assassin” booking his place in the title fight with a unanimous decision victory over former champion Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 296 in Paris.
After Edwards’ win, Eblen entered the cage and faced off with the British contender as their title matchup was confirmed.
The pair will headline Bellator Dublin, with two other bouts already confirmed for the late-summer event.
Former featherweight title challenger and No. 10-ranked contender Daniel Weichel will take on the division’s No. 6, Mads Burnell in a bout that will give both fighters the chance to build momentum as they look to climb the featherweight ladder.
Burnell arrived in Bellator and reeled off a hat-trick of victories over Darko Banovic, Saul Rogers and Emmanuel Sanchez before back-to-back losses to Adam Borics and Pedro Carvalho slowed his momentum.
Victory over Justin Gonzales put Burnell back in the win column, and now the Dane will take on Germany’s Weichel looking to claim back-to-back victories.
Weichel, meanwhile, is desperate to find some consistency after alternating wins and losses through his last seven outings, a run dating back to 2018. “Drake’s” last outing came in a decision loss to Timur Khizriev last November, and he’ll be looking to get back to winning ways in his 67th professional bout.
Also booked for September 23 in Dublin is a featherweight bout between Irish contender Brian Moore and Brazil’s Otto Rodrigues.
Moore will be looking to make it three wins in a row at the 3Arena as he makes his fourth consecutive appearance at the Dublin venue. His victories over Arivaldo Lima da Silva and Luca Iovine have set him up for his next challenge, which comes in the form of former Jungle Fight champion Rodrigues, who heads into his Bellator debut riding a 12-fight win streak.
Bellator Dublin: Confirmed fights
- Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards – for middleweight title
- Brian Moore vs. Otto Rodrigues
- Mads Burnell vs. Daniel Weichel