Irish duo Brian Moore and Nate Kelly will return to the 3 Arena when Bellator once again descend on the Irish capital on June 22 when they face Francesco Nuzzi and Fabacary Diatta, respectively.
The two bouts have been added to an already impressive Dublin card which will be headlined by Jason Jackson looking to defend his Welterweight title against Ramazan Kuramagomedov.
‘The Pikeman’ always brings the heat, wherever he makes the walk, but there is something special when he competes inside the 3 Arena with the full backing of the Irish crowd. Over the last couple of years, Moore faced a plethora of up-and-coming talents including Nikita Mikhailov, Jornel Lugo and Otto Rodrigues. In his eight years with Bellator, the 36 year old has built up a 7-6 record with his last three years being some of his most active.
Never one to take an easy fight, Moore once again finds himself up against a surging prospect in Nuzzi. Having not lost since 2016, the Italian has been in solid form, albeit not the most active athlete in recent years. 70% of his wins have come within the distance, with four stoppages and three submissions.
After spending two years under the PFL banner, Kelly made the most of being able to use elbow strikes when he competed at the inaurgaral Bellator Champions Series card in Belfast earlier this year. Just forty seconds into his contest with Vikas Singh Ruhill, the Irishman cracked Ruhill with a monster right elbow, instantly knocking out his opponent. In what will be his second fight of 2024, Kelly will face another step up in opposition when he faces Diatta.
The Irish man got off to a far from ideal start in his professional career when he found himself 1-2 after his first three bouts. Undeterred, and after three years away from competing, the Featherweight returned to action and had a point to prove. In his first fight back, he picked up a nine second KO victory, following by the biggest scalp of his career when he faced the then unbeaten Shem Rock to claim his first domestic title. Since then, Kelly has not looked back and looked more accomplished every time he has competed. With 8 first round finishes in his 10 victories, Diatta is going to have to try and weather an early storm to keep himself in the contest.
In his 8 year professional tenure, the Frenchman has only suffered one loss, which came at the hands of Jordan Barton in 2022. The 27 year old’s record is littered with big names from the British scene, with wins over Dominique Wooding, Nathan Rose and most recently, Keir Harvie.
Whenever a promotion heads to the 3 Arena, Irish fight fans pack the venue out, especially where there is a host of their country men and women competing. June 22 will be no different with Peter Queally and Sinead Kavanagh already announced alongside Moore and Kelly.
