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Petrosyan, Watson
Bellator Kickboxing Florence poster

Bellator Kickboxing matches Giorgio Petrosyan against Jordan Watson for their Bellator Kickboxing: Florence show on December 10.

Lightweights Petrosyan (82-2-2, 1 NC) and Watson (48-11-2) were scheduled to headline Carlo Di Blasi’s Okatagon: Torino; the undercard for Bellator Kickboxing’s debut show, on April 16.

However, Watson was forced out of fight after suffering a nose injury during a bout with Sanny Dahlbeck at Yokkao 18. That was a rematch from a year previous, where Dahlbeck had shocked the Muay Thai community with a fourth round stoppage of “Quadzilla.”

Watson would claim revenge in March though, beating the Swedish fighter outright on points to claim the -70kg title but it wasn’t without sacrifice. During the bout, Watson suffered what was believed to be a broken nose, which halted his chances to fight Gio in Torino.

Now, the 28-year-old from Leeds’ Bad Company Gym, will finally get the chance to face off against coveted striker Petrosyan.

Meanwhile, with Watson’s removal from their original date, “The Doctor” instead fought Ravy Brunow, defeating the Brazilian replacement by unanimous decision.

Other Bellator names such as Raymond Daniels, Kevin Ross and Joe Schilling are also slated to compete on the card. Opponents are still TBA.

Also, headlining Bellator 168 MMA card portion of the show, 185lb champion Rafael Carvalho (13-1) rematches Melvin Manhoef (30-13-1, 2 NC). Both men first met in the main event of Bellator 155 where Carvalho took a split decision over Manhoef. A verdict many deemed controversial, Kickboxing legend Manhoef gets his reprisal nearly seven months on.

The event will go head-to-head with GLORY Collision, which takes place in Oberhausen, Germany and pits Rico Verhoeven against legend Badr Hari.

Updated “Bellator 168: Carvalho vs. Manhoef 2” Card:

Middleweight World Title Bout: Rafael Carvalho (13-1) vs. Melvin Manhoef (30-13-1, 2 NC)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Alessio Sakara (18-11, 2 NC) vs. Joey Beltran (17-13, 1 NC)

Updated “Bellator Kickboxing: Florence” Card:

Lightweight Feature Fight: Giorgio Petrosyan (82-2-2, 1 NC) vs. Jordan Watson (48-11-2)

Flyweight World Title: Denise Kielholtz (45-3) vs. Gloria Peritore (11-1-1)