Ricky Bandejas vs. Leandro Higo, Saad Awad vs. Mandel Nallo Set for Bellator 249

The lineup for the Bellator 249 main card is now complete, as Ricky Bandejas will square off against Leandro Higo at bantamweight, while Saad Awad meets Mandel Nallo at lightweight.

Sherdog.com confirmed the bouts with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 249 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Oct. 15 and is headlined by a women’s featherweight title bout between Cristiane Justino and Arlene Blencowe.

Additionally, a middleweight clash pitting Curtis Millender against Joe Schilling has been booked for the preliminary draw. That contest was initially reported by The Orange County Register.

Bandejas had a two-bout winning streak snapped in his most recent outing, when he dropped a three-round verdict to Sergio Pettis at Bellator 242 on July 24. Higo, meanwhile, halted a two-fight skid with a second-round submission of Shawn Bunch at Bellator 228 in September 2019.

The 37-year-old Awad has lost four consecutive promotional appearances, including a second-round TKO defeat at the hands of Paul Daley in his latest bout at Bellator 232. Canado’s Nallo has won two of his first three appearances with the California-based promotion but is coming off a TKO loss to Killys Mota at Bellator 231.

Millender rejoined Bellator after a 3-2 UFC stint and has kicked off his 2020 campaign with a decision win over Moses Murrietta at Bellator 238 and a decision loss to Sabah Homasi at Bellator 243. Schilling saw a two-fight winning streak come to an end at Bellator 229, where he suffered a third-round knockout loss to Tony Johnson.