Elina Kallionidou

Bellator 176: Carvalho vs. Manhoef took place on April 8, 2017 at the Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy. The event aired on Spike TV. A Middleweight world title fight rematch pitting Rafael Carvalho against Melvin Manhoef served as the main event of Bellator 176. The event was announced by the company in February 2017. It was the second time Bellator MMA held an event at the Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy. Like the previous card, this event featured both MMA and kickboxing bouts.

Bellator 169: King Mo vs Ishii was held on December 16, 2016 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV. The event was headlined by a heavyweight bout between former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and Rizin Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion Muhammed Lawal and Japanese Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii. Lawal won the two-night, eight-man tournament at Rizin Fighting Federation on New Year's Eve in Japan. A 2008 Olympic gold medalist in judo, Ishii began his MMA career in December 2009 and made his Bellator debut in June 2016 against Quinton Jackson at Bellator 157: Dynamite 2. Bellator 169 is a Bellator MMA and BAMMA co-promoted event with the BAMMA 27 show filling out the rest of the card. Several top Irish prospects including Dylan Tuke, Ryan Curtis, Rhys McKee, and James Gallagher were featured on the card.