Bellator 176 Weigh-ins: Rafael Carvalho, Melvin Manhoef Cleared for Rematch

Melvin Manhoef feels as though he was robbed by the judges when he fought Rafael Carvalho last year. In fact, most people who watched him fight Carvalho at Bellator 155 felt he was the victim of a terrible decision. Carvalho retained his title with the highly controversial split decision win but Manhoef will get a second chance at gold on Saturday when they meet again.

The two will collide in the main event of Bellator 176 at Pala Aplitour in Turin, Italy, and Manhoef has never looked more focused in his career. The Dutch-based striking machine was all business at Friday’s official weigh-ins and he came in at a ready 184.5 pounds. Carvalho was no slouch on the scale, either. The Brazilian maintains that the judges got it right and has promised to retain his title. Carvalho weighed in at 184.4 pounds, giving the main event the expected green light.

Bellator 176 will run in conjunction with Bellator Kickboxing 5, which will be anchored by the women’s flyweight championship as Denise Kielholtz will defend her crown against Martine Michieletto. Both ladies were on point as well; Michieletto came in at 123.86 pounds while Kielholtz weighed in at 123 pounds (online sportsbooks).

Bellator 176 Weigh-ins:

Rafael Carvalho (184.4) vs. Melvin Manhoef (184.5)
Anastasia Yankova (133) vs. Elina Kallionidou (131)
Djamil Chan (156) vs. Valeriu Mircea (153.5)
Samba Coulibaly (155.25) vs. Mihail Nica (153.5)

Bellator Kickboxing 5 Weigh-ins:

Giorgio Petrosyan (153.34) vs. Amansio Paraschiv (153.78)
Denise Kielholtz (123.2) vs. Martine Michieletto (123.86)
Nando Calzetta (154.88) vs. John Wayne Parr (160.38)
Mustapha Haida (157.52) vs. Enriko Kehl (157.3)
Gaston Bolanos (146.08) vs. Luca D’isanto (142.56)