Neiman Gracie will attempt to get back on the winning track when he meets Michael Lombardo on the first Bellator card of 2023.
Gracie (11-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA), a perennial welterweight contenders and former title challenger, is set to clash with Lombardo (13-3 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) at the Bellator 290 event on Feb. 4, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif,. with a main card that airs on CBS following prelims on MMA Junkie.
MMA Junkie verified the booking with a Bellator official on Thursday following an initial report from MMAFighting.com.
After starting his career with nine straight wins, Gracie, 34, has struggled to find consistency at the top level in recent years. He’s 2-4 since he challenged then-champ Rory MacDonald for the title in June 2019, and was knocked out for the first time in his career against Goiti Yamauchi in his most recent outing at Bellator 284 in August.
The Brazilian will attempt to change his fortunes against Lombardo, who will make a quick turnaround from his first-round knockout of Mark Lemminger at Bellator 289 this month. The 32-year-old is a veteran of Bellator, PFL and Dana White’s Contender Series.
The latest Bellator 290 lineup now includes:
- Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko – for heavyweight championship
- Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero – for light heavyweight championship
- Sabah Homasi vs. Brennan Ward
- Ethan Hughes vs. Yusuf Karakaya
- Diana Avsaragova vs. Alejandra Lara
- Neiman Gracie vs. Michael Lombardo
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.
