DUBLIN – A thrilling featherweight matchup between No. 3-ranked Aaron Pico (11-4) and No. 4-ranked Pedro Carvalho (13-7) has been confirmed today for the main card of “Bellator 299: Eblen vs. Edwards,” in the promotion’s return to Ireland on Saturday, September 23. The fight supports the talent stacked card taking place at the 3Arena, which is headlined by a middleweight world championship bout between the United States’ undefeated champion Johnny “The Human Cheat Code” Eblen and the U.K.’s No. 1 challenger Fabian “The Assassin” Edwards.
“Bellator 299: Eblen vs. Edwards” will air live at 4 p.m. ET on Showtime in the U.S. The preliminary card will begin at 11 a.m. ET and will stream live on the Bellator and Showtime Sports YouTube Channels, as well as Pluto TV.
Tickets for the event are on sale now at Bellator.com and Ticketmaster.ie.
A battle between the No. 3 and No. 4-ranked 145-pounders on the Bellator roster, Southern California’s Pico will return to the cage for the second time in 2023 when he makes the walk in September, looking to parlay his one-sided decision victory in April with another win, which would be his eighth in nine outings. A product of Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the 26-year-old Pico has made it clear his time for a shot at Patricio “Pitbull” Freire‘s title is imminent, and a win over Carvalho would only further his case.
Recently making the decision to re-sign with Bellator, the 10-fight veteran of the promotion has fought against the top names the featherweight division has to offer since his debut in 2018. With heritage from both Portugal and Ireland, “The Game” will need to be on his “A-game” to secure a win over the well-rounded prowess of his September 23 opponent. Carvalho has proven to be a tough matchup for all comers, defeating the likes of Daniel Weichel and Mads Burnell in recent outings.
With the addition, the Bellator 299 lineup currently includes:
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)
- Champ Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards – for middleweight title
- Aaron Pico vs. Pedro Carvalho
- Mads Burnell vs. Daniel Weichel
PRELIMINARY CARD (YouTube, 11 a.m. ET)
- Brian Moore vs. Otto Rodrigues
- Sinead Kavanagh vs. Sara Collins
- Luke Trainer vs. Laurynas Urbonavicius
- Mark Ewen vs. Noah Gugnon
- Kenny Mokhonoana vs. Josh O’Connor
- Chiara Penco vs. Mackenzie Stiller
- Nicolo Solli vs. Romain Debienne
