Mohammed Karaki will defend his Desert Force Middleweight title against Yacine Bandaoui at Desert Force 23 as officials announced on Saturday.
The middleweight title fight will co-headline the May 30 main card, which takes place at the Ghazir Stadium, in Lebanon.
Karaki (6-0) will make his first defense as a middleweight champion in the Bandaoui match-up. He earned the title with a win over former middleweight champion Ibrahim El Sawi at Desert Force 19 back in Dec 2015.
Yacine Bandaoui (7-3) comes into the title fight after a successful Desert Force debut at Desert Force 20. No one expected Bandaoui to fight for the title, as a rematch between Karaki and Elsawi was almost officially scheduled.
El Sawi suffered a unexpected loss against a newcomer Daniel Cooper (1-1) at Desert Force 22 which lead to the rematch being scrapped.
Bandaoui might only have one win under the Desert Force banner but he currently rides a 5 win streak since 2013.The promotion saw it fit as there are no candidates to challenge the current champion better than him.
Desert Force 23 is currently in the development stage and more fights are expected to be announced for the card in the coming days.
