With his legal situation settled with the California State Athletic Commission, former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko will return to the promotion on October 21 against Kendall Grove.
Bellator President Scott Coker revealed the fight booking to ESPN on Wednesday and also announced that Bobby Lashley will be on the card against an opponent to be determined.
Shlemenko (53-9, 1NC) is unbeaten in his last four fights and his last fight in Bellator came in February of 2015 as he defeated Melvin Manhoef by knockout. However, the fight would be overturned to a no-contest following Shlemenko failing his post fight drug test and the suspension was recently reduced by a California judge. Grove (23-15, 1NC) has won back to back fights and three of his last four. His most recent win came in February as he defeated Francisco France by knockout at Bellator 150.
Bellator 162 is scheduled to come from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee and more details on the fight card will be released by Bellator in the coming weeks.