Evangelista Santos to Meet Saad Awad at Bellator 154 in San Jose

The Bellator 154 main card has a late new addition, as Evangelista Santos will make a short turnaround to face Saad Awad on May 14 in San Jose, Calif.

Sherdog.com confirmed the welterweight pairing with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Bellator 154 takes place at the SAP Center and is headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Phil Davis and Muhammed Lawal. The main card airs on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.

Santos made his promotional debut at Bellator 153 on April 22, when he submitted the favored Brennan Ward with a heel hook 30 seconds into the opening stanza of their 170-pound encounter. “Cyborg” is 21-16 over the course of a professional career that began in 1997 and includes bouts against the likes of Jose Landi-Johns, Mauricio Rua, Melvin Manhoef, Francis Carmont, Gegard Mousasi and Nick Diaz.

The 32-year-old Awad has won three of his last four under the Bellator banner but is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Patricky Freire this past August. The Millennia MMA representative is 6-2 with the promotion overall, including a notable knockout victory over current lightweight champion Will Brooks.