Bellator 275: Gegard Mousasi v Austin Vanderford headlines Bellator’s debut on BBC Three

Irish hearts were broken at the start of the week when local favourite Peter Queally was forced to withdraw from his fight with Kane Mousah through injury, but it is a chance for other hometown heroes to step forward.

Undefeated featherweight prospect Ciaran Clarke was promoted to the main card as a result of Queally’s withdrawal and will have a chance to impress against Frenchman Abou Tounkara.

Clarke thrilled the crowd with his last appearance in Dublin in November when he pulled off a submission in the final round and Bellator are expecting big things from the 26-year-old.

The opening fight on BBC Three will be Moore against American bantamweight Jornel Lugo, who is undefeated in seven fights and has high expectations. Moore, surprisingly, is fighting in Dublin for the first time since headlining with now-featherweight champion AJ McKee in 2017.

Defeat by Nikita Mikhailov in October ended a three-fight winning streak for Moore and the 34-year-old has accepted another difficult opponent despite coming into a home showing off the back of a gut-wrenching loss.

Prelims begin at 18:00 on BBC iPlayer with Brett Johns in action looking for his first win as a Bellator fighter.

The Welshman has gone under the radar in Dublin but a win over undefeated Tajikistan native Khurshed Kakhorov would see Johns breathe life into his career after losing his promotional debut in May.