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The seventh Bellator event of the year takes place Friday with Bellator 219 at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Two veterans of the organization’s lightweight division headline the card. Saad Awad (23-10 MMA, 11-7 BMMA) and Brandon Girtz (15-8 MMA, 7-6 BMMA) will face off as they look to rebound from losses in their previous outings and get back into the 155-pound title picture.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 25 pre-event facts about Bellator 219.
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Main event
Awad, 35, is the oldest of the eight scheduled main card fighters.
Awad competes in his 16th Bellator lightweight bout, the third most appearances in divisional history behind Patricky Freire (21) and Michael Chandler (18).
Awad is 4-5 in his past nine Bellator appearances dating back to August 2015.
Awad’s eight victories in Bellator lightweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Patricky Freire (14) and Chandler (14).
Awad has earned 18 of his 23 career victories by stoppage.
Girtz competes in his fourth Bellator headliner. He’s 1-2 in previous main events.
Girtz is 1-4 in his past five Bellator appearances dating back to November 2016.
Girtz’s five stoppage victories in Bellator lightweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Patricky Freire (nine) and Chandler (nine).
Co-main event
Daniel Straus
Daniel Straus (24-8 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) returns to competition for the first time since Oct. 6, 2017. The 539-day layoff is the longest of his more than 10-year career.
Straus competes in his 16th Bellator featherweight bout, the second most appearances in divisional history behind Patricio Freire (19).
Straus’ two-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since November 2015.
Straus’ 10 victories in Bellator featherweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Patricio Freire (16) and A.J. McKee (13).
Straus is one of six fighters in Bellator history to become a two time champion in a single weight class.
Shane Kruchten (12-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) has alternated win and losses over his past four fights. He lost his most recent bout at Bellator 192 in January 2018.
Remaining main card
Andrey Koreshkov (21-3 MMA, 12-3 BMMA), 28, is the youngest of the eight scheduled main card fighters.
Koreshkov competes in his 16th Bellator welterweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Koreshkov’s 12 victories in Bellator welterweight competition are most in divisional history.
Koreshkov’s seven stoppage victories in Bellator welterweight competition are tied with Michael Page for second most in divisional history behind Douglas Lima (eight).
Koreshkov’s seven knockout victories in Bellator welterweight competition are tied with Lima for most in divisional history.
Joe Schilling (3-5 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) was successful in his return to MMA competition after more than three years at Bellator 210 in November.
Keith Berry (15-14-1 MMA, 2-3-1 BMMA) enters the event on a six-fight winless skid. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2013.
Preliminary card
David Rickels (20-5 MMA, 14-5 BMMA) competes in his 22nd Bellator bout, the most appearances in company history (two appearances have resulted in no-contests).
Rickels’ 14 victories in Bellator competition are third most in company history behind Patricio Freire (16) and Chandler (16).
Rickels is 4-1 in Bellator welterweight competition. He’s 2-1 since he returned to the weight class in January 2017.
A.J. Matthews (9-8 MMA, 5-6 BMMA) is 1-5 in his past six fights. He has just one victory since August 2015.
Matthews is 5-5 in his career when fighting at welterweight.
For more on Bellator 219, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
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