Former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor Anthony
Adams will replace Khalid Murtazliev and lock horns with
Lorenz
Larkin at
Bellator 280.
The California-based promotion announced the new middleweight
contest at a press conference on Wednesday. A reason for
Murtazliev’s withdrawal was not given. Bellator 280 takes place at
Accor Arena in Paris on May 6 and is headlined by a light
heavyweight championship clash between Ryan Bader
and Cheick
Kongo.
Adams defeated Murtazliev via unanimous decision in his promotional
debut at Bellator 266 before signing a multi-fight deal with the
organization. The Elevation Fight Team representative went 0-2 on
the Contender Series, dropping a split decision to Chibwikem
Onyenegecha and falling to Impa
Kasanganay via unanimous decision. “Sugafoot” is 9-2 as a
professional overall, with eight of those triumphs going the
distance.
Larkin will take a five-bout promotional winning streak into the
matchup with Adams. The former Strikeforce and UFC talent returned
following a year-and-a-half hiatus at Bellator 258 last May, when
he defeated ex-champ via
split decision.