Bellator 239 adds promotional debut of former WSOF title challenger Josh Hill

Former WSOF title challenger Josh Hill is set to take on a former LFA title challenger at Bellator 239.

[autotag]Josh Hill[/autotag] has his Bellator debut in his sights.

A former WSOF title challenger, Hill (18-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will take on former LFA title challenger [autotag]Vinicius Zani[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) on the Bellator 239 prelims.

A promotion official informed MMA Junkie of booking and confirmed an additional preliminary card booking between [autotag]Bobby Lee[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Shamil Nikaev[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), as well.

In 2013, Hill was featured on “The Ultimate Fighter 18,” where he punched his ticket into the house with a win over Paddy Holohan. Eventually, he was eliminated when he lost a decision to Mike Wooten.

In WSOF, Hill challenged then-champion Marlon Moraes twice – once in December 2015 and another in July 2016. Hill lost both outings, the first by decision and the second by second-round knockout.

Hill has won four out of his last five fights, including a stoppage win over former TKO champion Jesse Arnett in May.

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As for Zani, the 32-year-old Brazilian has not competed since LFA 36 in March 2018, when he was finished in 59 seconds by Ricky Simon. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak.

With the additions, the Bellator 239 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Ed Ruth vs. Yaroslav Amosov
  • Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson
  • Javy Ayala vs. Valentin Moldavsky

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams
  • Lucas Brennan vs. Jamese Taylor
  • Adil Benjilany vs. Kevin Croom
  • Chris Gonzalez vs. Aaron McKenzie
  • Christian Edwards vs. Marco Hutch
  • Teejay Britton vs. Gabriel Varga
  • Grant Neal vs. Claude Wilcox
  • Davion Franklin vs. J.W. Kiser
  • Steve Mowry vs. Rudy Schaffroth
  • Gaston Bolanos vs. Solo Hatley Jr.
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Scott Futrell
  • Shamil Nikaev vs. Bobby Lee
  • Mark Lemminger vs. Carlo Pedersoli Jr.
  • Shawn Bunch vs. Keith Lee
  • Josh Hill vs. Vinicius Zani
  • Bobby Lee vs. Shamil Nikaev

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