Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Patrik Pietila among additions to Bellator 269 in Moscow

After picking up his first Bellator finish in July, Usman Nurmagomedov has gotten his wish.

On Tuesday, promotional officials announced that Nurmagomedov will return to action at Bellator 269 against 19-fight veteran Patrik Pietila. The event takes place Oct. 23 at the VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia.

The undefeated 23-year-old cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov had called to be on the promotion’s inaugural event in his home county after a first-round TKO win over Manny Muro at Bellator 263 in July. Nurmagomedov has now finished 11 of his 13 professional victories.

Pietila makes his second Bellator appearance and returns to action for the first time since a decision loss to Ryan Roddy at Bellator 227 in September 2019.

Officials also revealed that Tyrell Fortune is out of his scheduled matchup with former heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov with an undisclosed injury. Stepping in to face the returning Minkaov will be Said Sowma.

In addition, Grachik Bozinyan (11-4) will face former Cage Warriors champ Ross Houston (8-1), Brian Moore (14-7) will face promotional newcomer Nikita Mikhailov (7-1) in a bantamweight matchup, while Alexey Shurkevich (12-4) will meet Christian Eckerlin (13-5) in a welterweight bout.

Bellator 269 will be headlined by a heavyweight contest between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Johnson.