Representatives of the American League officially announced the organization of the welterweight fight.
Rustam Khabilov, 36, was supposed to make his Bellator debut back in 2021 at a tournament in Moscow, but dropped out of the fight with Andrei Koreshkov after contracting the coronavirus, and last year Welshman Lewis Long refused to fight the Russian. The last fight “Tiger” held in November 2019 under the banner of the UFC, defeating his compatriot Sergey Khandozhko by unanimous decision.
Jalil Willis, 30, ended his two-game losing streak last December with a unanimous decision over Kyle Crutchmer. Prior to that, Willis lost by choke in the first rounds to Mukhamed Berkhamov and Sabah Khomasi.