David Rickels in for Derek Anderson vs. Adam Piccolotti at Bellator 189

An injury has forced a change to next month’s Bellator 189 card, and “The Caveman” will be back in action.

David Rickels (18-4 MMA, 12-4 BMMA) is stepping in for an injured Derek Anderson (14-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) to take on Adam Piccolotti (9-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) in a lightweight bout in Oklahoma. Bellator officials announced the change today.

Bellator 189 takes place Dec. 1 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The card airs on Spike following prelims streamed on MMAjunkie.

Rickels will return for the first time since a TKO win over Aaron Derrow at Bellator 171 in January. That win got him back on track after a TKO loss to Melvin Guillard in July 2016 – a loss that eventually was overturned to a no-contest when Guillard tested positive for a banned substance. So technically, that gives Rickels back-to-back wins, including a TKO of Bobby Cooper at Bellator 150 in February 2016.

Rickels as been a fixture on Bellator’s cards in Mulvane, Kan., where he has been fighting in front of his home fans. The card in Oklahoma will be just the second time in nine fights “The Caveman” will have fought outside his home state.

Piccolotti will be looking to rebound from the first loss of his pro career. At Bellator 183 in September, he was submitted by Goiti Yamauchi in the first round. Before that, he had a perfect 9-0 start to his career, including 5-0 for Bellator with three submission finishes. Like Rickels, Piccolotti has been used to fighting at home. The Bay Area resident has had all 10 of his pro fights in California, and nine of the 10 have been either in San Jose or San Francisco.

Anderson was going to attempt to rebound from a loss, himself. At Bellator 170 in January, he dropped a decision to Derek Campos to have a two-fight winning streak snapped. But now his quest to get back on track is put on hold.

The Bellator 189 card now includes:

• Julia Budd vs. Arlene Blancowe – for women’s featherweight title
• Chris Honeycutt vs. Rafael Lovato
• Hisaki Kato vs. Chidi Njokuani
• Marcos Galvao vs. Sam Sicilia
• Alexis Dufresne vs. Amber Leibrock
• Adam Piccolotti vs. David Rickels

For more on Bellator 189, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.