Saad Awad vs. Brandon Girtz, Daniel Straus vs. Shane Kruchten set as new Bellator 219 headliners

Bellator announced a new main event bout for the company’s return to California with the cancellation of Lorenz Larkin vs. Andrey Koreshkov.

Saad Awad will now face Brandon Girtz in the new headline attraction on March 29. The event takes place at Temecula’s Pechanga Resort & Casino.

In the co-main event, former featherweight champion Daniel Straus makes his return versus Shane Kruchten in a lightweight tilt.

Awad (23-10) last fought in October, when he had a four-fight winning streak snapped by former UFC and WEC titleholder Ben Henderson. Girtz (15-8) will return almost a year after his first-round defeat to Bellator star Michael Chandler.

Straus (25-8) hasn’t fought since suffering a near-fatal motorcycle accident in Dec. 2017. The ex-Bellator champion looks to snap a two-fight losing skid to Patricio Freire and Emmanuel Sanchez. Kruchten (12-4) lost to Aaron Pico in his promotion debut in Jan. 2018.