Saad Awad-Brandon Girtz, Daniel Straus-Shane Kruchten Top Bellator 219 After Larkin Injury

A lightweight clash pitting Saad Awad against Brandon Girtz will serve as the new Bellator 219 headliner following Lorenz Larkin’s withdrawal from the card.

Larkin was scheduled to face Andrey Koreshkov in the featured bout at the March 29 event, but “The Monsoon” was forced to pull out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury. It is unclear if Koreshkov will remain on the card. The California-based promotion announced the new headliner on Friday.

Bellator 219 takes place at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif., and will see Daniel Straus face Shane Kruchten in the featherweight co-main event. The card will air on Paramount Network and DAZN at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, with prelims streaming immediately prior on Bellator.com and DAZN.

Awad last competed at Bellator 208, where he had a four-bout winning streak snapped in a unanimous decision loss to Benson Henderson. Girtz, meanwhile, has lost four of his last five appearances, including a first-round submission defeat to Michael Chandler in his most recent outing at Bellator 197.

Straus, a two-time featherweight champion, is coming off back-to-back losses against Emmanuel Sanchez and Patricio Freire. Kruchten fell to 12-4 in his pro career after suffering a 37-second knockout loss to Aaron Pico in his promotional debut at Bellator 192.