Zoila Gurgel Draws Casey Noland in Comeback Fight at Bellator 78

It’s been more than a year since Bellator women’s champion Zoila Gurgel has stepped into the cage, but her long wait is finally over and now she has an opponent.

Gurgel is expected to face 4-2 fighter Casey Noland at Bellator 78 set to go down on Friday, Oct 26 from Dayton, OH.

Sources close to the match-up confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com on Saturday with bout agreements in place for the fight.

Zoila Gurgel made one of the most impressive runs through Bellator between 2010 and 2011 where she picked up wins over notable names like Jessica Penne, Jessica Aguilar and former top ranked women’s fighter Megumi Fujii.

Unfortunately after her last fight in 2011, Gurgel suffered a major knee injury that required months of rehab, but now she’s healthy and ready to get back to competing in Bellator.

Facing Gurgel in her return bout will be Casey Noland, who fights out of The Pit in San Luis Obispo, Calif. under the direction of John Hackleman.

Noland is 4-2 overall and in her last bout she came up just short against another top ranked Ohio based fighter losing by split decision to Jessica Eye.

Noland will look to get back on track while derailing Gurgel’s comeback run.

Bellator 78 takes place on Friday, Oct 26 from the Nutter Center in Dayton, OH.