Bellator 126 Full Card Finalized Friday, September 26th From Phoenix’s Grand Canyon University Arena

Shlemenko vs. Halsey Headlines; Held vs. Pitbull Featured

Newport Beach, Calif. (September 9, 2014) – A storm is heading to Phoenix as Alexander Shlemenko will return to the Bellator cage on Friday, September 26^th to defend his Bellator middleweight title against Brandon Halsey live on Spike TV from Grand Canyon University Arena. The event will also feature the Bellator Lightweight Tournament Final and a full preliminary card. Tickets are on sale now and available at the GCU Arena Box Office, GCUArena.com or Bellator.com.

Former heavyweight tournament finalist Ryan Martinez will kick-off the Spike.com portion of the night in a fight against Nick Rossborough. In a battle of heavy-hitters, Rossborough is ready to grab his first Bellator victory, but will have to hold off the powerful Martinez who has recorded five KO wins and is looking for the finish on September 26th.

In a face-off of Arizona natives, Jacob Ortiz will fight Clifford Starks in a middleweight bout. After a two-year absence from the cage, Ortiz is anxious to make his mark in front of his home state crowd against Starks, who is coming off of a decision victory in his Bellator debut at Bellator 100.

Hailing from Guam, Joe Taimanglo returns to the Bellator cage to face Michael Parker. The former featherweight semifinalist holds an impressive 19-6 record and has won 10 of his previous 12 fights. Parker has tallied eight of his 11 victories by KO or submission and plans on ending the fight with Taimanglo as quickly as possible in front of the GCU Arena fans.

Making his Bellator debut, Arizona’s own Estevan Payan will fight Derek Campos in a lightweight battle. No stranger to the Bellator cage, Campos has won five of his previous six fights and holds a 3-1 Bellator record. Payan is known for his knockout power and recorded four of his last five victories by KO.

Rounding out the preliminary card will be Phoenix native Larue Burley as he faces fellow Arizona resident Raymond Pina. Dan Charles will meet Stuart Austin in a heavyweight fight and submission ace Brandon Girtz will put his skills to the test against Benny Madrid.

MAIN CARD:Middleweight World Title Fight: Alexander Shlemenko (50-8) vs. Brandon Halsey (7-0)
Lightweight Tournament Final: Patricky Pitbull (13-5) vs. Marcin Held (19-3)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Thiago Meller (19-5) vs. Bubba Jenkins (6-1)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Mike Richman (15-6) vs.  Ed West (18-8)

PRELIMINARY CARD:Heavyweight Feature Fight: Ryan Martinez (10-4) vs. Nick Rossborough (23-18)
Lightweight Feature Fight:  Brandon Girtz (10-4) vs. Benny Madrid (7-1)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Derek Campos (14-4) vs. Estevan Payan (14-6)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Stuart Austin (8-0) vs. Dan Charles (7-1)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Michael Parker (11-6) vs. Joe Taimanglo (19-6-1)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Jacob Ortiz (13-4) vs. Clifford Starks (9-2)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Raymond Pina (4-0) vs. Larue Burley (4-0)

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA        

Alexander Shlemenko Returns To Defend Middleweight Title Friday, September 26th At Bellator 126 From Phoenix’s Grand Canyon University Arena

Shlemenko vs. Halsey Headlines; Held vs. Pitbull Featured

Newport Beach, Calif. (August 13, 2014) – A storm is heading to Phoenix as Alexander Shlemenko will return to the Bellator cage on Friday, September 26^th to defend his Bellator middleweight title against Brandon Halsey live on Spike TV from Grand Canyon University Arena. Tickets are on sale now and available at the GCU Arena Box Office, GCUArena.com or Bellator.com.

After a brief move to the light heavyweight division after challenging Tito Ortiz, Shlemenko returns to the division he has dominated, amassing a 50-8 career record, including 29 career knockouts. The Russian native will now face Bellator Middleweight Tournament winner Brandon Halsey, who enters the fight with a spotless 7-0 record, including recent victories over Brett Cooper, Joe Pacheco and Joe Yager.

The night will also feature the Lightweight Tournament Final as Patricky Pitbull will battle Marcin Held for a guaranteed title shot and a $100,000 tournament prize. Patricky earned his finals spot with dominate performances over David Rickels and Derek Campos. Held is currently riding a four-fight win streak with victories over Derek Anderson, Rodrigo Cavalheiro and Nate Jolly, and has his sights set on capturing his first Bellator title shot. The 22-year-old Polish phenom has now taken his fight training to the United States and is looking to elevate his game to the next level.

“I’m very excited for this fight, it’s been a long time coming and I’m ready to finally face Pitbull,” Held said. “I’m training at one of the best gyms in the world with Duke Roufus and Roufusport, and my sparring partners have really elevated my game. Even with my standup improving, my style isn’t going to change, I’m always going to look for the finish, but now I’m even more dangerous on my feet.”

Known across MMA as one of the best up and coming fighters in the sport, Bubba Jenkins returns to face Bellator newcomer Alejandro Villalobos in a featherweight feature fight. Known simply as “The Highlight Kid”, Jenkins has collected six finishes in his seven professional wins, and is looking to climb the featherweight ranks with a win on September 26^th from Grand Canyon Arena.

Bantamweights return as Ed “Wild” West returns to the cage for the first time in over a year when he takes on Mike Richman, who is making the drop to 135 lbs. Two long time Bellator veterans, the two finishers are looking to make their mark in the division and are both closing in on title contention.

"The weight cut and training are going great,” Richman said. “I'm fired up to get back in the Bellator cage and throw some thunda’ at bantamweight and begin my title run."

MAIN CARD:Middleweight World Title Fight: Alexander Shlemenko (50-8) vs. Brandon Halsey (7-0)

Lightweight Tournament Final: Patricky Pitbull (13-5) vs. Marcin Held (19-3)
 

Featherweight Feature Fight: Alejandro Villalobos (17-3) vs. Bubba Jenkins (6-1)
 

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Mike Richman (15-6) vs.  Ed West (18-8)

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA  

Weigh-In Results from Pechanga Resort and Casino

Temecula, Calif. (July 24, 2014) – The Bellator MMA weigh-ins have been completed from Cabaret Theater inside Pechanga Resort & Casino in preparation for Bellator MMA’s July 25^thevent, which will showcase the Bellator Middleweight and Welterweight Tournament Finals.

Bellator MMA will take place from Pechanga Resort & Casino on Friday, July 25th with the first fight taking place at 4 p.m. PST and streaming LIVE on Spike.com. The televised portion of the night will begin at 6 p.m. PST and will air LIVE on Spike TV.

MAIN CARD:Bellator Welterweight Tournament Final: Adam McDonough (170.5) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (170.8)
Bellator Middleweight Tournament Final: Brandon Halsey (185) vs. Brett Cooper (186)
Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal: Egidijus Valavicius (204) vs. Liam McGeary (203)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Phil Baroni (170) vs. Karo Parisyan (169)

PRELIMINARY CARD:Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal: Kelly Anundson (205.5) vs. Philipe Lins (206)
Heavyweight Feature Fight:  Dmitriy Sosnovskiy (240) vs. Manny Lara (251.5)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Poppies Martinez (145) vs. Bubba Jenkins (146)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Augusto Sakai (255.5) vs. Matt Frembling (236)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Linton Vassell (205) vs. Virgil Zwicker (206)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Fernando Gonzalez (170.6) vs. Karl Amoussou (170)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Joe Duarte (155) vs. Saad Awad (156)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Stephen Martinez (155.6) vs. Sergio Rios (154.9)

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA        

Parisyan vs. Baroni Feature Fight Added To Stacked Bellator 122 Main Card From California’s Pechanga Resort & Casino Friday, July 25th

Middleweight and Welterweight Tournament Finals Headline Bellator 122

Newport Beach, Calif. (June 17, 2014) – It’s a night of Bellator Tournament actionas Bellator MMA returns to Southern California’s Pechanga Resort & Casino to host the Bellator Season 10 Middleweight Tournament Final as Brett Cooper faces Brandon Halsey, while Russian striker Andrey Koreshkov battles rising star Adam McDonough in a Bellator Welterweight Tournament Finals showdown.  As always, both tournaments hold high stakes as the winners will move on to collect a guaranteed world title fight. “The New York Bad Ass” will also make his promotional debut as Phil Baroni will take on Karo Parisyan in a welterweight affair live on Spike TV.

“From top to bottom, we’re bringing a loaded card to our second home at the beautiful Pechanga Resort & Casino July 25^th,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “We’ve got two spectacular tournament final fights that headline the show, two amazing semi-finals in our Light Heavy Weight tournament and a battle between two great names in MMA, with the Bellator debut of “The New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni facing the resurgent and focused Karo “The Heat” Parisyan.  And, on top of that we’ve got a loaded prelim card that features a crazy amount of talent. The Southern California market has been fantastic to us, it’s our home, and we are delivering a great card top to bottom.”

Bellator 122 will be broadcast live from Pechanga Resort & Casino beginning at 6 p.m. PST on Spike TV.  The preliminary card will be streamed live and free exclusively on Spike.com starting at 4 p.m. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting Pechanga.com, Bellator.com, or by calling the Pechanga Box Office at 877-711-2946 or visiting between noon and 8 p.m. daily.

Combining for over 65 professional fights, Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni will make his Bellator debut as he faces Karo “The Heat” Parisyan in a welterweight bout.  In a battle of fan favorites, Baroni has recorded 10 victories by knockout and is looking to put on an explosive performance and make his mark under the Bellator banner against the always exciting Parisyan, who won three of his previous four fights.

“I’m so pumped to be back with Bellator, they have treated me great here and I’m proud to be back in the cage,” Parisyan said. “This is going to be a fun one. I’ve known Phil for a long time, we have a strong friendship, but this is business, and an absolutely huge fight for both of us. Everyone knows the only chance Phil has is to try and knock me out, but I know I bring more to the table. It’s going to be your standard standup guy vs. a judo guy, but you never know what can happen. I’m not under estimating Phil, and we both know how important of a fight is for both of us. Our futures are on the line here, and I’m taking this incredibly seriously.”

After defeating Mike Mucitelli by knockout in the light heavyweight opening round at Bellator 118, Liam McGeary returns to face Egidijus Valavicius. Valavicius claimed victory against Carlos Eduardo in the opening rounds, but will have his work cut out for him against McGeary who maintains a perfect 7-0 professional record. McGeary has won all four of his Bellator victories by first round finish, accumulating for less than four minutes of time spent in the cage.

With a dominate first round submission victory in the opening round, Philipe Lins will battle Kelly Anundson in the semifinals to complete the other half of the light heavyweight tournament bracket. Lins has a 9-0 professional record with seven wins coming by KO or submission and is looking for the finish against Anundson on July 25^th. 

No stranger to the Bellator cage, Karl Amoussou will face Fernando Gonzalez in a welterweight bout. In a battle of finishers, Amoussou has recorded 12 of his 17 wins by KO or submission and will look to his previous Bellator experiences to hold off Gonzales, who recorded 14 finishes, 12 coming in the first round. 

Former lightweight tournament finalist Saad Awad returns to the Bellator cage to fight fellow California native, Joe Duarte in a rematch of their 2011 battle that saw Durate collect a huge second round armbar victory. After falling to Duarte, Awad has improved to 15-6 with 13 finish wins and is looking for redemption on July 25^th.  With the vast improvements he’s made in his game and his experiences in the cage since their last meeting, Awad is confident his fight with Duarte will lend a different result this time around.

Entering the fight with back-to-back first round submission victories, Poppies Martinez will fight one of MMA’s top prospects in Bubba Jenkins on July 25^th. With a 6-1 professional record, Jenkins has won five professional fights by KO or submission and will put his skills to the test against Martinez who has fought in 35 fights and recorded 18 submission wins throughout his career.

At 8-0, Russia’s own Dmitriy Sosnovskiy will make his Bellator debut against California native Manny Lara in a heavyweight battle.  A four-time Bellator veteran, Lara is ready to fight in front of his home state fans, but will need to stop the solid punching power of Sosnovskiy, who has recorded four first round KO victories.

Coming off of a 56 second victory in his Bellator debut, Stephen Martinez will fight submission ace Sergio Rios. With an undefeated 7-0 professional record, Rios has recorded five first round submission wins and plans on using his strong submission skills against Martinez, who is riding a six-fight win streak.

After recording a first round knockout in his Bellator debut, Temecula’s own Virgil Zwicker will fight Linton Vassell. Zwicker has recorded nine knockout wins, but will face his toughest opponent yet in Vassell, who has won eight-consecutive fights and has won 11 of his 13 victories by KO or submission.

Rounding out the Spike.com card will be a heavyweight battle between undefeated Augusto Sakai and southern California’s Matt Frembling. Frembling has won his previous six fights and will rely on his strong striking to come away with a victory in his Bellator debut.

The full fight card can be found below.

MAIN CARD

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Final: Adam McDonough (11-0) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (16-1)
Bellator Middleweight Tournament Final: Brandon Halsey (6-0) vs. Brett Cooper (20-9)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Phil Baroni (15-17) vs. Karo Parisyan (23-10)

Bellator Light Heavyweight Semifinal: Liam McGeary (7-0) vs. Egidijus Valavicius (27-10)

PRELIMINARY CARD:Bellator Light Heavyweight Semifinal: Kelly Anundson (8-2) vs. Philipe Lins (9-0)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Poppies Martinez (26-9) vs. Bubba Jenkins (6-1)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Fernando Gonzalez (20-12) vs. Karl Amoussou (17-6-2)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Joe Duarte (10-3) vs. Saad Awad (15-6)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Dmitriy Sosnovskiy (8-0) vs. Manny Lara (4-4)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Stephen Martinez (10-2) vs. Sergio Rios (6-0)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Linton Vassell (13-3) vs. Virgil Zwicker (12-3)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Augusto Sakai (6-0) vs. Matt Frembling (9-2)

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA          

Middleweight and Welterweight Tournament Finals Headline Bellator’s Return To California’s Pechanga Resort & Casino Friday, July 25th

Newport Beach, Calif. (May 19, 2014) – The Bellator Summer Series will continue as Southern California’s Pechanga Resort & Casino hosts the Bellator Season 10 Middleweight Tournament Final as Brett Cooper faces Brandon Halsey and Andrey Koreshkov will meet Adam McDonough under the bright lights in the Welterweight Tournament Final.

Bellator 122 will be broadcast live from Pechanga Resort & Casino beginning at 6 p.m. PST on Spike TV.  The preliminary card will be streamed live and free exclusively on Spike.com starting at 4 p.m. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting Pechanga.com, Bellator.com, or by calling the Pechanga Box Office at 877-711-2946 or visiting between noon and 8 p.m. daily.

After the being postponed due to Cooper experiencing a back injury, the Bellator Middleweight Tournament will be settled when Cooper and Halsey battle on July 25^th.  A former tournament finalist, Cooper’s second-round KO over Kendall Grove in the semifinals punched his ticket to the finals and he plans on ending his fight with Halsey the exact same way.  

 “My injury was a setback, but with some time off I feel great heading into this fight,” Cooper said. I am stronger and couldn’t be more excited to get back into the cage. I’m looking forward to winning another tournament and getting another shot against Shlemenko.”

At 6-0, Halsey has won three of his six professional victories by KO or submission and will put his skills to the test against Cooper. After going the distance with Joe Pacheco in the semifinals, Halsey feels like his stamina and ability to grind will be his biggest asset in the tournament final.

In a battle of strikers, Koreshkov cruised through the opening round and semifinals with two first round knockouts against Nah-Shon Burrell and Justin Baesman.  With 13 victories coming by KO, Koreshkov is looking for the quick finish against McDonough.

With an undefeated professional record, McDonough is looking to improve his spotless 11-0 record in front of a sold out Southern California crowd.  With a strong performance against Jesse Juarez and a lights out KO against Nathan Coy in his first two fights of the tournament, McDonough is ready to make his mark in the Bellator cage against Koreshkov in the tournament finals.

"Andre Koreshkov is one of the best Welterweights in the world and I've got a lot of respect for him, he is an exciting fighter and dynamic finisher,” McDonough said. “However he is standing in the way of me getting one step closer to the belt. I can assure you Bellator MMA fans are not going to want to miss this fight!"

Additonal fight card information will be made available in the coming weeks. 

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA        

Bellator Weigh-In Results from Pechanga Resort and Casino

Temecula, Calif. (April 10, 2014) – The Bellator MMA weigh-ins have been completed from Pechanga Resort and Casino in preparation for Bellator MMA’s April 11^th  event, which will feature the Bellator Heavyweight, Middleweight and Welterweight semifinals.  

Bellator 116 will be broadcast live from Pechanga Resort & Casino beginning at 9 p.m. ESTon Spike TV.  The preliminary card will be streamed live and free exclusively on Spike.com starting at 4 p.m. PST and 7 p.m. EST.

MAIN CARD:Bellator Heavyweight Semifinal: Blagoi Ivanov (255.7) vs. Lavar Johnson (245.3)
Bellator Welterweight Semifinal: Nathan Coy (170.6) vs. Adam McDonough (170.9)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Joey Beltran (204.5) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (205.5)

Bellator Heavyweight Semifinal: Mighty Mo (264.9) vs. Alexander Volkov (235.7)

PRELIMINARY CARD:Bellator Middleweight Semifinal: Joe Pacheco (185.9) vs. Brandon Halsey (185.8)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Dave Vitkay (184.4) vs. Keith Berry (185.4) 
Lightweight Feature Fight: Josh Smith (154.8) vs. Poppies Martinez (155.1)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Brandon Bender (145.8) vs. Mario Navarro (145)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Joe Taimanglo (135.6) vs. Rob Emerson (136)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Ron Keslar (170.8) vs. Karo Parisyan (170.7)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Carlos Eduardo (205) vs. Rodney Wallace (205.8)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Philipe Lins (205.1) vs. Travis Clark (205.1)
Catchweight Feature Fight(180 lbs.): Ricky Rainey (171) vs. Andy Murad (178.9)

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA          

Pacheco vs. Halsey Middleweight Semifinal Scheduled for Bellator 116 Friday at Pechanga Resort & Casino

Newport Beach, Calif. (April 8, 2014) – Bellator 116 has experienced a fight card change as Joe Pacheco and Brandon Halsey have been added to the Bellator Middleweight Tournament, replacing the originally scheduled Dan Cramer vs. Jeremy Kimball fight. Previously scheduled as the alternate tournament bout, Pacheco will face Halsey in the Bellator Middleweight Semifinals Friday night.

Bellator 116 will be broadcast live from Pechanga Resort & Casino beginning at9 p.m. EST on Spike TV.  The preliminary card will be streamed live and free exclusively on Spike.com starting at 4 p.m. PST and 7 p.m. EST. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting Pechanga.com, Bellator.com, or by calling the Pechanga Box Office at 877-711-2946 or visiting between noon and 8 p.m. daily.

With the changes, the full fight card for Bellator 116 can be found below:

MAIN CARD:Bellator Heavyweight Semifinal: Blagoi Ivanov (10-0) vs. Lavar Johnson (18-8)
Bellator Welterweight Semifinal: Nathan Coy (14-4) vs. Adam McDonough (10-0)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Joey Beltran (14-10) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (27-7)

Bellator Heavyweight Semifinal: Mighty Mo (6-2) vs. Alexander Volkov (19-4)

PRELIMINARY CARD:Bellator Middleweight Semifinal: Joe Pacheco (7-1) vs. Brandon Halsey (5-0)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Dave Vitkay (13-12-1) vs. Keith Berry (15-12)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Josh Smith (9-6) vs. Poppies Martinez (28-9)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Brandon Bender (11-1) vs. Mario Navarro (4-3)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Joe Taimanglo (19-5-1) vs. Rob Emerson (15-10)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Ron Keslar (11-5) vs. Karo Parisyan (22-10)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Carlos Eduardo (11-2) vs. Rodney Wallace (19-8)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Philipe Lins (7-1) vs. Travis Clark (7-2)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Ricky Rainey (6-2) vs. Andy Murad (6-1)
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/BellatorMMA