The final Bellator MMA event of 2016 will be their first ever event staged in Dublin, Ireland. On Wednesday, the promotion announced that light heavyweight contender Muhammed Lawal will fight Satoshi Ishii in the Bellator 169 main event, with King Mo moving up to heavyweight for this bout. In the co-main event spot, undefeated SBG prospect James Gallagher will fight an opponent TBD.
Lawal (19-5, 1 NC) lost a somewhat controversial unanimous decision to Phil Davis at Bellator 154. The loss snapped a seven-fight winning streak, which included three victories in the Rizin FF World Grand Prix, culminating in a KO of Jiri Prochazka in the final.