Bellator Lightweight Tournament Begins From The Moda Center at Rose Quarter, Friday September 27th

Newport Beach, CA. (August 22, 2013) – Portland’s Rose Quarter will play host to Bellator MMA’s Toughest Tournament In Sports on September 27^th as the event will feature the opening round of the Bellator Lightweight Tournament, along with some of Portland’s premier talent.

Tickets for the event can be purchased by visiting the Rose Garden Arena Box Office. The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 6 p.m. PST on Spike, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 4 p.m. PST.

In a battle of veteran talent, Ricardo Tirloni will face Polish submission ace Marcin Held. Both with 15 professional wins, Tirloni is aware of the opportunity at hand, but will have to hold off Held who has won eight victories by submission, six in the first round.

The night will also showcase a preliminary card of Portland’s top athletes. Portland’s own Nathan Coy will make his Bellator debut and face Andy Uhrich, while Brent Primus looks to maintain his undefeated record in a fight against Scott Thometz. Primus has won all of his professional fights by first round submission.

The full Bellator 101 fight card is listed below.

MAIN CARD:

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Rob Sinclair (12-2) vs. Rich Clementi (45-22-1)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Martin Stapleton (12-1) vs. Saad Awad (14-5)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: John Alessio (34-16) vs. Will Brooks (10-1)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round:  Marcus Davis (22-9) vs. Tiger Sarnavskiy (23-1)

PRELIMINARY CARD:

Lightweight Feature Fight: Ricardo Tirloni (15-4) vs. Marcin Held (15-3)

Middleweight Feature Fight: Joe Pacheco (6-0) vs. Tyson Jeffries (10-7)

Welterweight Feature Fight: Andy Uhrich (9-3) vs. Nathan Coy (12-4)

Middleweight Feature Fight: Jeremiah Riggs (7-7) vs. Peter Aspinwall (3-3)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Scott Thometz (6-2) vs. Brent Primus (2-0)

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Austin Springer (3-0) vs. Brent Alvarez (1-1)

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

Bellator’s $100,000 Lightweight Tournament Begins From Portland’s Rose Garden Arena Friday, September 27th

Newport Beach, CA. (July 24, 2013) –  The Toughest Tournament In Sports continues as Portland’s Rose Garden Arena plays hosts to Bellator MMA on Friday, September 27^th. The night will showcase the opening round of the Bellator Lightweight Tournament, as well as stacked preliminary card.

Tickets for the event are on sale Friday at 10 a.m. and can be purchased by visiting the Rose Garden Arena Box Office. The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 6 p.m. PST on Spike, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 4 p.m. PST.

No stranger to the MMA game, Marcus Davis will use his veteran talent as he faces Russian submission artist Tiger Sarnavskiy. Davis is well aware of the opportunity at stake for his future, but will have to hold off Sarnavskiy, who holds an impressive 24-1 professional record.

After spending only 74 seconds in the cage with two first round knockouts last season, but falling to David Rickels in the Season 8 Tournament Final, Saad Awad is ready for redemption. Awad will face UK striker Martin Stapleton, who enters the fight riding an eight fight win streak and brings an impressive 12-1 record to the cage.   

“Bellator always brings top tier athletes from around the world and I'm excited that I get to be a part of this upcoming tournament again,” Awad said. “I’ve added a few things to my arsenal and I can't wait to showcase them and put on a great show.”

Fan favorite Will Brooks will also return to the big stage and battle MMA veteran John Alessio. After suffering just the first loss of his professional career in the Season 8 Lightweight Tournament Semifinal to Saad Awad, Brooks is ready to get back under the bright lights.

“I just want to get back in the winner circle,” Brooks said. “I have some unfinished business from last season and I am going to keep it simple, to the point and devastating for every fight. I need and want the belt and I am going to take it from whoever has it, but I am hoping it will be Michael Chandler.”

Making his Bellator debut, England’s own Rob Sinclair will battle long time veteran Rich Clementi on September 27th. With 27 submission wins in his professional career, Clementi will look to his experience in the cage to take down Sinclair, and put it all on the line for a last tournament run.  

“I am so excited to have the chance to compete again,” Clementi said. “For those who have been following me, I made an official retirement a few months ago and was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. The last few years of competing, I’ve been running on four flat tires, but after being under treatment for the last three months and my body is responding well. Fighting is who I am and the thought of not being able to do that was devastating. I am so excited to get back in the cage and show people what I am made of.”

Bellator MMA Main Card:

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Marcus Davis (22-9) vs. Tiger Sarnavskiy (23-1)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Will Brooks (10-1) vs. John Alessio (34-16)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Saad Awad (14-5) vs. Martin Stapelton (12-1)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Rob Sinclair (12-2) vs. Rich Clementi (45-22-1)

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          

Martin Stapleton, Rob Sinclair and Paul Sass Highlight Bellator’s Ongoing British Invasion

The UK’s Best Join Bellator This Fall

Newport Beach, CA. (May 22, 2013) – After a scouting expedition that took Bellator Talent Development Director and former MMA fighter  Zach Light throughout the United Kingdom, Bellator has added three English standouts to the roster as Martin Stapleton, Rob Sinclair and Paul Sass have all signed long-term promotional agreements with Bellator MMA.

“Our talent development team does the best job in MMA by bringing hugely talented fighters to Bellator from around the globe,” Bellator CEO and Chairman Bjorn Rebney said. “The number one question I get from fans is ‘when will a UK television deal be completed with Bellator?’ With these three signings, along with a roster already featuring the likes of Paul “Semtex” Daley, Ronnie Mann and Michael Page, we are setting the table for making Bellator an every week televised occurrence in the UK.”

Only 24, Sass joins Bellator sporting an impress 13-2 record including victories over Jacob Volkmann and Michael Johnson. Training under the tutelage of Luta Livre master Marcelo Brigadeiro in Liverpool, Sass will be featured prominently with Bellator over the coming months, including a possible tournament appearance in 2014.

“I’m incredibly excited to get the chance to compete with Bellator,” Sass said. “After meeting with their staff and having a clear understanding of what’s next, I can’t wait to get into the cage and get into my first tournament.”

Armed with a devastating arsenal of knockout power, Rob Sinclair isn’t willing to waste any more time. At 33, Sinclair has done everything and more in the UK, compiling a 12-2 record that includes 10 finishes over his seven year professional career. Remarkably, Sinclair has never trained full time, instead working as an engineer to provide for his family Manchester. After meeting with the Bellator staff, it was obvious to Sinclar it was now or never.

“This is something I’ve wanted for a long time, but the timing has just never been right,” Sinclair said. “After meeting with Bellator and talking to guys like Paul Daley and Ronnie Mann, it really seemed like the perfect fit. This chance with Bellator will give me the opportunity to fully train and prepare for fight like I should, and with a full camp in place, the lightweights in Bellator better be on notice.”

Stapleton opened eyes recently after winning an eight man, one night tournament held in England last December. It put Stapleton back on the map after three years of duty with the Royal Marine Commando Unit forced the man they call “.50 Cal” away from the cage. Back and ready for a long tournament run, Stapleton is eager to get his Bellator career started.

“This is an awesome opportunity for me to get a chance to show the world what I’m capable of, and not to sleep on a guy like me,” Stapleton said. “I’ve worked my ass off over the last few years for this exact opportunity, and I’m not going to let it get away from me. The lightweight division in Bellator is stacked, and it just got a little deeper with me.”

   

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          

Seventeen Additional MMA Stars Announced for The MMA Show Live in Birmingham

Birmingham, UK – March 26, 2012 – It was confirmed today that another plethora of UFC and MMA stars have been added to The MMA Show Live. The event is being held May 12 -13 at The NEC in Birmingham alongside The Martial Arts Show Live.





Mark Munoz, Alexander Gustaffson, Phil DeFries, Vaughan Lee, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves, Chris Leben, Alessio Sakara, Matt Mitrione, John Maguire, Neil Grove, Rob Sinclair, Marloes Coenen, Sergei Kharitonov plus World renowned coaches Jon Chaimberg, Martin De Jong and Kenny Johnsonhave all joined the roster for the largest MMA fan expo ever to be held in Europe.



They join a star studded lineup that includes the likes of Dan Henderson, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and Jake Shields, giving fans access to more top level UFC and MMA talent than any MMA show of its kind ever to be held in Europe.



Liam Fisher, the organizer of The MMA Show Live stated, “It is beyond a dream to see so many top level MMA fighters, personalities and coaches all at one show in the UK ...and it doesn’t end there! On Tuesday, we will be announcing the final two names for the show – a current UFC champion and a former UFC champion. It doesn’t get any better than this!”



The final two A-list fighters for The MMA Show Live roster will be announcedtomorrow at 6pm GMT exclusively through the shows Official Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/themmashowlive .





Additionally, the official MMA Show Live website www.themmashowlive.com will re-launch tomorrow (March 27) at 6pm GMT with a brand new design and will list the full schedule for The MMA Show Live weekend.



The confirmed line-up for the MMA Show is as follows:

(The final two fighters will be announced tomorrow at 6pm GMT at www.facebook.com/themmashowlive )



Dan Henderson (UFC)

Michael Bisping (UFC)

Rashad Evans (UFC)

Mark Munoz (UFC)

Sean Sherk (UFC)

Brittney Palmer (UFC)

Chandella Powell (UFC)

Diego Sanchez (UFC)

Thiago Alves (UFC)

Thiago Silva (UFC)

Kenny Florian (UFC)

Jake Shields (UFC)
Paul Daley (Strkeforce)

Alexander Gustaffson (UFC)

Matt Mitrione (UFC)

Alessio Sakara (UFC)
Brendan Schaub (UFC)
Rory MacDonald (UFC)
Chris Leben (UFC)

Phil DeFries (UFC)

Vaughan Lee (UFC)

John Maguire (UFC)

Neil Grove (UFC, Bellator, Super Fight League)

Rob Sinclair (BAMMA)

Marloes Coenen (Strikeforce, Invictus)

Sergei Kharitonov (Strikeforce, PRIDE)
Jimmy Wallhead (Bellator)
Jimi Manuwa (BAMMA)
Jack Marshman (BAMMA)
Andre Winner (BAMMA)
Tim Radcliffe (UCMMA)
Vladimir Matyushenko (UFC)
Brad Pickett (UFC)
Jason Young (UFC)
Ross Pearson (UFC)
Dean Amasinger (KSW)
Che Mills (UFC)
Simeon Thoresen (UFC)
Tom 'Kong' Watson (BAMMA)
Ian 'The Machine' Freeman (UFC, Cage Rage)
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (UFC, PRIDE and DREAM)

Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson (UFC)

Jorge Rivera (UFC)

Frank Trigg (UFC, PRIDE)

Mark Coleman (UFC, PRIDE)

Keith Jardine (Strikeforce)

Dan Severn (UFC, PRIDE, Cage Rage, WEC)

Marc Goddard (UFC Referee)

Gareth A Davies (The Daily Telegraph, ESPN)

Jon Chaimberg (Jackson’s MMA)

Kenny Johnson (BOLT Wrestling)

Martin De Jong (Golden Glory)



Tickets are available now from The Ticket Factory at http://bit.ly/xXUcfa or from the 24 hour ticket hotline on 0844 338 0338.



For more information on The MMA Show Live, please go to http://www.themmashowlive.com/ . Fans can also follow The MMA Show Live on Twitter at www.twitter.com/themmashowlive  and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/themmashowlive .







About The MMA Show Live:



The MMA Show Live is a bi-yearly interactive fan experience dedicated to mixed martial arts from around the World. Populating a second hall at the NEC in Birmingham alongside The Martial Arts Show Live, The MMA Show Live consists of five training areas where some of the biggest names in the business will host special group training sessions, a huge stage & screen for Q&A sessions, an autograph zone where fans can meet their favorite fighters and exhibition stands where some of the biggest brands in MMA will be selling merchandise and much, much more.