Middleweight Tournament Finals Delayed With Brett Cooper Out Due to Back Injury

Newport Beach, Calif. (May 5, 2014) – The Bellator Middleweight Tournament Finals will be on hold as Brett Cooper has been forced off of the Bellator 119 card from Casino Rama as the California native is dealing with a back injury. Cooper was scheduled to face the undefeated Brandon Halsey for a guaranteed title shot against reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion Alexander Shlemenko.  

“After my fight with Kendall [Grove], my back just hasn’t been where I need it to be to have a proper training camp for one of the biggest fights of my career,” Cooper said. “It’s a setback, but with some time off, I should be ready to go by late July. I never like missing time, but I know this is the right move. I’ll be back stronger, and I’m looking forward to winning another tournament and getting another shot against Shlemenko.”

Also, Shamhalaev vs. Guerreiro will also be removed from the card after passport issues forced the featherweight fight to be postponed. Two of the most explosive featherweights in the sport, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney is confident fans will still get to see the matchup shortly.

“Unfortunately issues arose in the passport process for Guerreiro, and because the fight is in Ontario, we weren’t confident these issues with be resolved by May 9^th,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “However, we should have news shortly on when this fight will be rescheduled, as these are two guys I’ve wanted back in our cage, and it should make for a great fight.”

With the changes, the current Bellator 119 card can be found below. Bellator 119 takes place on Friday, May 9^th from Ontario’s Casino Rama.

MAIN CARD:
 

Bellator Featherweight Tournament Final: Daniel Weichel (33-8) vs. Desmond Green (11-2) 
Featherweight Feature Fight: Chris Horodecki (20-4-1) vs. Marlon Sandro (24-5-1)

Welterweight Feature Fight: Marius Zaromskis (19-8) vs. Vaughn Anderson (16-2-1)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Raphael Butler (8-0) vs. Nick Rossborough (23-18)

PRELIMINARY CARD:
Catchweight Feature Fight (160 lbs): Eric Wisely (22-8) vs. John Alessio (34-17)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Brian Rogers (10-6) vs. Adrian Miles (14-5)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Stuart Austin (7-0) vs. Craig Hudson (4-3)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Jason Meisel (4-3) vs. Remy Bussieres (3-0)

Catchweight Feature Fight (130 lbs.): Chris Kelades (6-0) vs. Malcolm Gordon (4-0)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Behrang Yousefi (5-4) vs. Chad Freeman (8-5)

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 119 Full Card Finalized at Casino Rama on Friday, May 9th

Newport Beach, Calif. (April 14, 2014) – The Toughest Tournament in Sports continues from Ontario’s Casino Rama for Bellator 119 on Friday, May 9^th live on Spike TV. The event will feature the Bellator Middleweight and Featherweight Tournament finals, the return of Canadian fan-favorite John Alessio and a full card of local talent.

The event will broadcast live at 9 p.m. EST/ 8 p.m. CST on Spike TV. The preliminary card will be streamed live and free on Spike.com beginning at 7 p.m. EST/ 6 p.m. CST. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.ca, Bellator.com, or by visiting the Casino Rama Box Office.

Kicking off the Spike.com portion of the night will be a battle of Canadians as Jason Meisel fights Remy Bussieres. With a 3-0 undefeated professional record, Bussieres has recorded two of his three victories by knockout and is looking for another KO against Meisel.

At 34-17 Canada’s own and the always exciting John Alessio steps under the bright lights to face Guillaume DeLorenzi. Alessio has 25 wins by KO or submission and will use his previous experience in the cage against DeLorenzi, who only has two professional losses. Both fighting in front of their home country, Alessio and DeLorenzio are ready to put on an exciting fight for the fans at Casino Rama.

Combining for 46 professional fights, Marius Zaromskis will fight Vaughn Anderson in a welterweight bout. In a battle of heavy-hitters, Zaromskis has record 13 KOs, but will need to get past Anderson who has won 13 of his 16 victories by first round finish.

No stranger to the Bellator cage, Brian Rogers will fight Johan Romming. Making his Bellator debut, Romming has won five fights by submission and will put his skills to the test on May 9^th against Rogers, who has recorded nine victories by knockout.

Former featherweight tournament finalist Shahbulat Shamhalaev returns to the Bellator cage to face Fabricio Guerreiro. At only 23 years-old Guerreiro holds an impressive 19-3 record with 12 of his wins by submission, eight coming in the first round.  

Looking to maintain his undefeated professional record, Stuart Austin faces Craig Hudson. In a fight of finishers, Austin has won six of his seven victories by finish, but will have to get past Hudson who has won all of his victories by knockout.

The full fight card is listed below.

MAIN CARD:Bellator Middleweight Tournament Final: Brett Cooper (20-9) vs. Brandon Halsey (6-0)
Bellator Featherweight Tournament Final: Daniel Weichel (33-8) vs. Desmond Green (11-2) 
Featherweight Feature Fight: Chris Horodecki (20-4-1) vs. Marlon Sandro (24-5-1)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Raphael Butler (8-0) vs. TBA

PRELIMINARY CARD:Featherweight Feature Fight: Fabricio Guerreiro (19-3) vs. Shahbulat Shamhalaev (12-2-1)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Marius Zaromskis (19-8) vs. Vaughn Anderson (16-2-1)
Catchweight Feature Fight (165 lbs): Guillaume DeLorenzi (10-2) vs. John Alessio (34-17)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Brian Rogers (10-6) vs. Johan Romming (9-4-1)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Stuart Austin (7-0) vs. Craig Hudson (4-3)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Jason Meisel (4-3) vs. Remy Bussieres (3-0)

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      

Bellator Returns To Canada As Casino Rama Hosts Bellator 119 Friday, May 9 Live On Spike

Heavyweight Tournament Finals Featured, Canada’s Own John Alessio Returns

Newport Beach, Calif. (February 11, 2014) – Bellator will make its highly anticipated return to Canada on Friday, May 9^th as the promotion will return to Ontario’s Casino Rama for Bellator 119, live on Spike TV. The night will feature the finals of Bellator’s Season 10 Heavyweight Tournament, as well as the return of Canadian lightweight John Alessio.

The event will broadcast live at 9 p.m. EST/ 8 p.m. CST on Spike TV. The preliminary card will be streamed live and free on Spike.com beginning at7 p.m. EST/ 6 p.m. CST. Tickets for the event will be on sale Monday, February 17th and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.ca, Bellator.com, or by visiting the Casino Rama Box Office.

The Bellator Season 10 Heavyweight Tournament will feature Alexander Volkov, Mark Holata, Peter Graham, Mighty Mo, Ryan Martinez, Lavar Johnson, Rich Hale and Blagoi Ivanov. With reigning Bellator Heavyweight Champion Vitaly Minakov set to defend his title against Cheick Kongo on Friday, April 4^th, the heavyweight division will be on the full display throughout Bellator’s long awaited Season 10.

John Alessio will also return to the Bellator cage in a lightweight feature fight that will be featured on the Spike.com portion of the night.

More information on the Bellator 119 fight card 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 atwww.facebook.com/BellatorMMA