Karl Moore injured, withdraws from Bellator 217 clash with Yannick Bahati

MMAfighting.com

One of the most eagerly anticipated clashes on the Bellator 217 card, Karl Moore vs. Yannick Bahati, will not take place as an injury has forced former Cage Warriors champion Moore from the Dublin, Ireland event.

Moore announced that an undisclosed injury forced him from the contest via social media Friday. Bellator later confirmed the news to MMA Fighting.

Moore (8-2-0) was one of the marquee signings during Bellator’s mass talent acquisition across the U.K. and Ireland in 2018. A former light heavyweight champion under the Cage Warriors banner, the Belfast native’s last outing saw him fail in his bid to repeat Conor McGregor double title winning feat with the promotion when he was stopped in the first round by Mauro Cerilli. He was set for his Bellator debut on Feb. 23.

Bahati (8-4-0) is a former BAMMA and EFC middleweight champion who is currently on a three-fight skid. In his last outing, Bahati came up short against Damian Janikowski in his KSW bow. His last two outings before his KSW debut saw him part ways with both the EFC and BAMMA titles to Dricus Du Plessis and Mike Shipman. Bahati was also set to compete under the Bellator banner for the first time in Dublin.