With James Thompson Injured, Virgil Zwicker Now Set To Face Houston Alexander at Bellator 129 Friday, October 17 From Iowa’s Mid-America Center

Newport Beach, Calif. (October 12, 2014) – An injury to James Thompson has forced the English native to withdraw from his fight against Houston Alexander on Friday, October 17^th at Bellator 129. Thompson was scheduled to face Houston Alexander from Iowa’s Mid-America Center, and will be replaced by Strikeforce veteran Virgil Zwicker, who enters the fight with an impressive 12-4 record including wins over Mike Hayes, Ovince St. Preux and Nick Moghaddam.

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 6:30 p.m. EST/ 5:30 p.m. CST. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, Bellator.com or by visiting the Mid-American Center Box Office.

With the change, the full fight card for Bellator 129 can be found below:

MAIN CARD: 

Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Bradley (21-6) vs. Josh Neer (34-13-1)
Catchweight Feature Fight (215 lbs.): Houston Alexander (16-10) vs. Virgil Zwicker (12-4) 
Welterweight Feature Fight: Andre Santos (36-9) vs. James Terry (14-7)
Middleweight Feature Fight:  Joe Vedepo (16-8) vs. Davin Clark (5-1-2)

PRELIMINARY CARD: 

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Chris Lane (14-11) vs. John DeVall (8-5)
Catchweight Feature Fight (150 lbs.): Eric Howser (4-2) vs. Tim Bazer (14-16)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Michael McBride (6-1) vs. TBD
Catchweight Feature Fight (150 lbs.): Martin Trey Brown (7-2) vs. Bryan Corley (2-1)
Catchweight Feature Fight (152 lbs.): Holly Lawson (0-0) vs. Jozette Cotton (4-0)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Brian Green (30-19) vs. Anthony Smith (18-11)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Marcos Marquez (5-3) vs. Victor Moreno (32-20)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Mike Estus (6-2) vs. Ryan Shell (6-1)

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

Bellator 129 Comes To Iowa’s Mid-America Center On Friday, October 17th As Josh Neer vs. Paul Bradley Headline

Newport Beach, Calif. (September 24, 2014) – Bellator MMA will return to The Hawkeye State on Friday, October 17^th from The Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs as Iowa natives Josh Neer and Paul Bradley square off in a welterweight affair that will be featured as the main event of the evening live on Spike TV. The night will also feature the return of the “The Colossus” as James Thompson battles veteran Houston Alexander in a heavyweight bout.

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 6:30 p.m. EST/ 5:30 p.m. CST. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, Bellator.com or by visiting the Mid-American Center Box Office.

A native of Tama, Iowa, Bradley became a two-time All-American at the University of Iowa in wrestling before transitioning to MMA, where he has amassed an impressive 21-6 record that includes 14 finishes. Neer enters the fight riding a three-fight win streak that have all ended via finish and is looking to make his mark on the big stage of Bellator. Originally signed to Bellator in 2010, Neer was submitted by Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 17 and has since collected a 9-3 record, including victories over Duane Ludwig, Jesse Juarez and Blas Avena.

The night will also feature a welterweight fight between long time Strikeforce veteran James Terry as he battles Bellator newcomer Andre “Chatuba” Santos. The Brazilian submission ace brings twenty seven finish victories into his October 17^th fight against Terry and will look to keep his five-fight winning streak alive.

The Spike TV card will be rounded out by Cedar Rapids native Joe Vedepo taking on AKA’s own Davin Clark as he makes his Bellator debut. With back-to-back wins over Ben Crowder and Cortez Coleman, Vedepo is looking to keep his momentum going in front of his home state crowd.

The Bellator 129 preliminary card will feature a collection of some of the best talent from around the Midwest, including Chris Lane taking on John DeVall, Brian Green fighting Anthony Smith, as well as Marcos Marquez battling Victor Moreno.

The night will also see the first female fight of the Scott Coker era of Bellator, as Omaha native Jozette Cotton will face Holly Lawson, who is making her MMA debut. Known for a successful boxing career, Lawson is looking to start her professional MMA career with a huge win inside the Bellator cage on October 17^th.

The full card for Bellator 129 can be found below:

MAIN CARD: 

Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Bradley (21-6) vs. Josh Neer (34-13-1)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: James Thompson (20-14) vs. Houston Alexander (16-10)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Andre Santos (36-9) vs. James Terry (14-7)
Middleweight Feature Fight:  Joe Vedepo (16-8) vs. Davin Clark (5-1-2)

PRELIMINARY CARD: 

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Chris Lane (14-11) vs. John DeVall (8-5)
Catchweight Feature Fight (150 lbs.): Eric Howser (4-2) vs. Tim Bazer (14-16)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Michael McBride (6-1) vs. TBD
Catchweight Feature Fight (150 lbs.): Martin Trey Brown (7-2) vs. Bryan Corley (2-1)
Catchweight Feature Fight (152 lbs.): Holly Lawson (0-0) vs. Jozette Cotton (4-0)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Brian Green (30-19) vs. Anthony Smith (18-11)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Marcos Marquez (5-3) vs. Victor Moreno (32-20)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Mike Estus (6-2) vs. Ryan Shell (6-1)

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

Featherweight Champion Pat Curran Suffers Calf Injury, Removed From June 6th Card

Newport Beach, Calif. (May 21, 2014) – Bellator Featherweight Champion Pat Curran has suffered a severe right calf strain during training and will be unable to defend his title on June 6^th against Bellator Tournament winner Patricio Pitbull from Winstar World Casino.

“I’ve been training incredibly hard for this fight by pushing myself to my absolute limits in training,” Curran said. “Unfortunately during some conditioning drills, I suffered a bad calf strain that has halted my training for one of the biggest fights of my career. I have my sights set on getting back into the cage as soon as possible with July in mind, but I want to be 100% healthy heading into that cage to smash Pitbull.”

After a fight of the year candidate against Daniel Straus to reclaim the Bellator Featherweight Title, Curran can now focus on Pitbull, who is looking to avenge his 2013 razor thin split decision loss to Curran and capture his first Bellator Championship.

With the change, the full fight card for Bellator 121 will be announced shortly.

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 Welterweight Tournament Adds Paul Bradley, Nathan Coy & Cristiano Souza

War Machine, Joe Riggs and Mark Scanlon Unable To Compete

Newport Beach, Calif. (March 8, 2014) – The Bellator Welterweight Tournament is set to begin on Friday, March 14^th and The Toughest Tournament In Sports has received a shakeup as Paul Bradley, Nathan Coy and Cristiano Souza have been added to the field, while War Machine, Joe Riggs and Mark Scanlon have withdrawn from the tournament. The night will be headlined by the trilogy fight between Bellator Featherweight Champion Daniel Straus and challenger Pat Curran, live on Spike Friday, March 14^th at 9pm EST/ 8pm CST.  War Machine and Riggs have both withdrawn with documented medical conditions. 

With the changes, the tournament pairings have been rearranged. Russian striker Andrey Koreshkov will now face Nah’Shon Burrell, while Bellator veteran Sam Oropeza will now battle Souza. Jesse Juarez will face Adam McDonough, with Bradley and Coy rounding out the eight man field.

“We’ve been riding a great wave of not losing any fights or fighters from our Tournaments. And, while losing any fighter from a tournament is never something we’re happy to see happen, it’s part of the sport  and it’s a huge credit to our talent team to have developed the depth in the division to replace fighters with talent like Paul Bradley, Nathan Coy and Cristiano Souza,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “It creates an opportunity for fighters to showcase their skills on a huge platform, and that’s a positive. When you look at a guy like Brennan Ward, he was a fighter that was featured primarily on our preliminary shows, and when injury struck our Middleweight Tournament last year, Brennan stepped up as a last minute replacement and ran through an incredibly tough tournament, and will be fighting for our title against one of the best in the world in Alexander Shlemenko. Injuries can provide those opportunities, and I’m looking forward to seeing if the next Brennan Ward steps up through this new group from The Horseshoe in Hammond, Indiana.”

The full fight card for Bellator 112 can be found below:

MAIN CARD: 

Bellator Featherweight World Title Fight: Daniel Straus (22-4) vs. Pat Curran (19-5)
 

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Andrey Koreshkov (14-1) vs. Nah’ Shon Burrell (11-3)
 

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Sam Oropeza (10-2) vs. Cristiano Souza (7-0)
 

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Jesse Juarez (21-8) vs. Adam McDonough (9-0)

PRELIMINARY CARD: 

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Nathan Coy (13-4) vs. Paul Bradley (21-5)
 

Welterweight Feature Fight: A.J. Matthews (6-2) vs. Belal Muhammad (4-0)
 

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Diego Marlon (24-8) vs. Lloyd Carter (5-5)
 

Featherweight Feature Fight: Darrion Caldwell (3-0) vs. Lance Surma (2-0)
 

Lightweight Feature Fight: Derek Loffer  (6-2) vs. Bobby Reardanz (8-12)
 

Light-Heavyweight Feature Fight: Jason Guida (19-27) vs. Anthony Gomez (7-2)
 

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Daniel James (debut) vs. Erick Correa (2-0)

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 112 Fight Card Finalized From Chicago’s Horseshoe Casino on Friday, February 14th Live on Spike TV

Curran vs. Straus III for World Title Fight;

Plus Welterweight Tournament Opening Rounds

Newport Beach, Cailf. (February 4, 2014) – The Bellator Featherweight Title is on the line  in one of the biggest rematches of 2014 as reigning Bellator Featherweight Champion Daniel Straus defends his crown against former Bellator Champion and Crystal Lake, Illinois native Pat Curran on Friday, March 14^th from Chicago’s Horseshoe Casino live on Spike TV at Bellator 112. The night will also showcase the Bellator Welterweight Tournament opening rounds 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.com or by visiting the Horseshoe Hammond Gift Shop.

Two of Chicago’s top-talents will kick off the Spike.com show as Daniel James will make his professional debut against Erick Correa. Holding a 2-0 professional record, Correa is coming off a first round knockout victory and plans on maintaining his undefeated career in his fight against James.

After defeating Karl Amoussou at his Bellator debut in October, Paul Bradley will face Nathan Coy who is riding a five-fight win streak.  Previously meeting in 2009, Bradley walked away with a split decision victory over Coy and doesn’t see this fight ending any differently.

Both looking to maintain their undefeated records, Darrion Caldwell will meet Lance Surma as they both step under the bright lights of Bellator for the first time. As one of the biggest prospects in MMA, Caldwell is a former NCAA Division I Champion and a two-time All American wrestling champion. With strong striking skills, Caldwell is looking for the knockout against Surma to boost his career to the next level. 

With 46 professional fights under his belt Jason Guida will fight Chicago native Anthony Gomez.  Grabbing his previous two victories by first round rear-naked choke, Gomez will look to his ground game to take down Guida in front of the Hammond crowd.

After being featured as a participant on Bellator MMA’s reality TV show Fight Master, A.J. Matthews will return to the Bellator cage and face Belal Muhammad. Known for his precise striking, Matthews has recorded four victories by knockout and is looking to collect another finish against Muhammad.

Heading into this fight on a four-fight win streak, Diego Marlon will fight Rob Menigoz. With 24 professional wins, Marlon will rely on his previous experiences in the cage, but will have to hold off Menigoz who only has one professional loss.

Known for finishing fights as quickly as possible, Derek Loffer will fight Bobby Reardanz in a lightweight battle. Loffer enters his fight winning all six of his professional victories by first round finish, five coming by knockout

The full fight card is listed below.

MAIN CARD:
Featherweight Title Fight: Pat Curran (19-5) vs. Daniel Straus (22-4)

Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Sam Oropeza (10-2) vs. Joe Riggs (40-14)
Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Jesse Juarez (21-8) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (14-1)
Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Nah’Shon Burrell (11-3) vs. War Machine (14-5)

PRELIMARY CARD:Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Adam McDonough (9-0) vs. Mark Scanlon (9-2)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Bradley (21-) vs. Nathan Coy (13-5)
Welterweight Feature Fight: A.J. Matthews (6-2) vs. Belal Muhammad (4-0)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Diego Marlon (24-8) vs. Rob Menigoz (6-1)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Darrion Caldwell (3-0) vs. Lance Surma (2-0)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Derek Loffer  (6-2) vs. Bobby Reardanz (8-12)
Light-Heavyweight Feature Fight: Jason Guida (19-27) vs. Anthony Gomez (7-2)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Daniel James (debut) vs. Erick Correa (2-0)

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