Full Card Finalized for Bellator 125 Friday, September 19thFrom Fresno’s Save Mart Center

Newport Beach, Calif. (August 28, 2014) – With a near 40 KO’s between the two, a middleweight clash between Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef and Doug “The Rhino” Marshall will be can’t miss television on Friday, September 19^th as the two square off in the main event of the evening at Bellator 125 live on Spike.  The night will also showcase a full preliminary card featuring some of California’s top talent. Tickets for the event are available at the Save Mart Center Box Office, Ticketmaster.com or Bellator.com.

Kicking of the Spike.com portion of the night will be a battle of California natives as Ron Keslar faces Jesse Juarez. A former welterweight tournament finalist, Keslar has grabbed five of his 11 victories by submission and will put his skills to the test against an experienced fighter in Juarez who has tallied 30 professional fights and 13 finish victories.

Looking to maintain his undefeated record, Fresno’s own and top MMA prospect Chris Honeycutt will make his Bellator debut and fight Aaron Wilkinson on September 19^th.  Hailing from the UK, Wilkinson is making his Bellator debut and enters the cage having previously won four of his last five fights.  At 4-0 Honeycutt has recorded three of his wins by first round KO or submission and is ready to put on an explosive and exciting fight for this hometown crowd.

After recording a TKO win over Josh Arocho in his Bellator debut at Bellator 117, Julio Cesar Neves returns to the Bellator cage to face California native Poppies Martinez.  At only 20-years-old, Neves holds a strong 29-0 record, but will have to hold off the veteran Martinez, who will rely on his strong ground game and has posted 18 wins by submission, 16 coming in the first round.

Both looking to make their mark under the Bellator banner, Anthony Ruiz will fight Rafael Carvalho in a middleweight battle. A MMA veteran, Ruiz is entering the Bellator cage for the first time and has tallied 33 professional wins, 22 coming by KO or submission. With only one professional loss, Carvalho has recorded eight of his nine victories by knockout and his looking for the KO against Ruiz.

Rounding out the preliminary card will be two featherweight battles as Joel Neal faces Paul Ruiz and Jonny Bonilla-Bowman looks to improve his perfect record. Granson Clark will take on George Zuniga in a middleweight bout and California native Matt Ramirez will make his professional debut against Oscar Ramirez in front of the Save Mart Center fans.

Full fight card is listed below.

MAIN CARD:Middleweight Feature Fight: Doug Marshall (18-7) vs. Melvin Manhoef (28-11-1)
Middleweight Feature Fight: James Irvin (17-10) vs. Brian Rogers (11-6)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Martin Stapleton (13-3) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (17-2)
Heavyweight Feature Fight:  Javy Ayala (7-3) vs. Raphael Butler (8-0-1)

PRELIMINARY CARD:Welterweight Feature Fight: Ron Keslar (11-6) vs. Jesse Juarez (21-9)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Aaron Wilkinson (11-6) vs. Chris Honeycutt (4-0)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Julio Cesar Neves (29-0) vs. Poppies Martinez (29-10)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Granson Clark (2-1) vs. George Zuniga (2-0)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (2-0) vs. Sergio Cortez (9-8)
Flyweight Feature Fight: Oscar Ramirez (3-1) vs. Matt Ramirez (debut)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Joe Neal (3-0) vs. Paul Ruiz (5-1)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Rafael Carvalho (9-1) vs. Anthony Ruiz (33-18)

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

Results from Pennsylvania’s Sands Event Center

Bethlehem, PA. (November 22, 2013) – The final results are in for Bellator MMA’s event live from Pennsylvania’s Sands Event Center. The night showcased the Bellator Middleweight World Championship with Alexander Shlemenko defending his belt against Doug Marshall with a first round knockout. The event also featured the Bellator Welterweight and Lightweight Tournament Finals with Rick Hawn finishing Ron Keslar to win his second Bellator tournament in two different weigh classes and Will Brooks defeating Tiger Sarnavskiy in the lightweight final.

Bellator Middleweight World Championship: Alexander Shlemenko defeats Doug Marshall via KO (punch) – Round 1, 4:28

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Final: Rick Hawn defeats Ron Keslar via KO (Punch) – Round 3, 0:55

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Final: Will Brooks defeats Tiger Sarnavskiy via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Terry Etim defeats Patrick Cenoble via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Blagoi Ivanov defeats Keith Bell via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)- Round1, 3:59

Catchweight Feature Fight (153lbs): Goiti Yamauchi defeats Saul Almeida via KO (Punches) –Round 1, 2:04

Lightweight Feature Fight: Mike Bannon defeats Ahsan Abdullah via Technical Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) – Round 1, 1:51

Lightweight Feature Fight: Bubba Jenkins defeats Ian Rammel via TKO (Punches)- Round 3, 2:38

Lightweight Feature Fight: Brent Primus defeats Brett Glass via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 1, 3:20

Featherweight Feature Fight: Lester Caslow defeats Jay Haas via Submission (Guillotine Choke) –Round 3, 2:44

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 Results from Iowa’s US Cellular Center

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (October 18, 2013) – The final results are in for the Bellator MMA event live from Iowa’s US Cellular Center. The night was headlined by the Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinals with Ron Keslar finishing War Machine in the first round and Rick Hawn defeating Brent Weedman to advance to the Bellator Welterweight Tournament Final. Keslar will face Hawn on November 22^nd from Sands Casino Event Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal: Rick Hawn defeats Brent Weedman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal: Ron Keslar defeats War Machine via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:31

Middleweight Feature Fight: Kendall Grove defeats Joe Vedepo by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Peter Graham defeats Eric Prindle by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Bradley defeats Karl Amoussou by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Paul Sass defeats Rod Montoya via Submission (toe hold) – Round 1, 2:01

Catchweight Feature Fight (150lbs): Rob Emerson defeats Jared Downing via Submission (heel hook) – Round1, 1:44

Catchweight Feature Fight (160lbs): Brandon Girtz defeats Mike Estus via Verbal Submission (armbar) - Round 1, 4:25

Catchweight Feature Fight (161lbs): Cliff Wright Jr. defeats Derek Loffer via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:28

Featherweight Feature Fight: Andre Tieva defeats Christopher Lane via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:14

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 Iowa’s US Cellular Center

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (October 17, 2013) –  The Bellator MMA weigh-ins have been completed from the US Cellular Center in preparation for Bellator MMA’sOctober 18th event, which will showcase the Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinals and full card of local talent.

Bellator MMA will take place from the US Cellular Center on Friday, October 18th with the first fight taking place at 6:00 p.m. CST and streaming LIVE on Spike.com. The televised portion of the night will begin at 8:00 p.m. CST and will air LIVE on Spike TV.

MAIN CARD: 

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal: Brent Weedman (170.7) vs. Rick Hawn (170.4) 
Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal: Ron Keslar (170.7) vs. War Machine (170.5) 
Middleweight Feature Fight: Kendall Grove (185.7) vs. Joe Vedepo (185.2)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Eric Prindle (265.6) vs. Peter Graham (246.6)

PRELIMINARY CARD:Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Bradley (171) vs. Karl Amoussou (170.6)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Rod Montoya (155.8) vs. Paul Sass (155.1)
Catchweight Feature Fight (150lbs): Rob Emerson (145.6) vs. Jared Downing (148.3)
Catchweight Feature Fight (160lbs): Brandon Girtz (160) vs. Mike Estus (157.6)
Catchweight Feature Fight (161lbs): Derek Loffer (160.4) vs. Cliff Wright Jr. (154)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Andrew Tieva (144.6) vs. Chris Lane (146)

 

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 Host Live Weigh-Ins Thursday, October 17th at 5:00 p.m. CST from Iowa’s US Cellular Center

Weigh-Ins will be streamed online at Bellator.com

Newport Beach, CA. (October 15, 2013) – The weigh-in and pre-fight press conference for Bellator MMA will take place Thursday at 5:00 p.m. CST at Exhibit Hall A & C inside US Cellular Center (370 1st Ave E, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401). Bellator MMA will take place from the US Cellular Center on Friday, October 18th with the first fight taking place at6:00 p.m. CST and streaming LIVE on Spike.com. The televised portion of the night will begin at 8:00 p.m. CST and will air LIVE on Spike TV.

All participants from Friday night’s event will be on hand, as well as Bellator CEO & Chairman Bjorn Rebney.

The event will be emceed by Bellator cage announcer Michael C. Williams and Bellator color commentator Jimmy Smith.

As always the weigh-in is open to both the public and media. 

MAIN CARD: 

 
Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal: Brent Weedman (22-8-1) vs. Rick Hawn (16-2) 
Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal: Ron Keslar (10-3) vs. War Machine (14-4)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Kendall Grove (18-13) vs. Joe Vedepo (14-6)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Eric Prindle (8-3) vs. Peter Graham (8-5)

PRELIMINARY CARD: 

Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Bradley (20-5) vs. Karl Amoussou (16-5-2)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Rod Montoya (15-15) vs. Paul Sass (13-2)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Rob Emerson (12-10) vs. Jared Downing (9-3)
Catchweight Feature Fight (160lbs): Brandon Girtz (9-3) vs. Mike Estus (3-0)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Derek Loffer (4-1) vs. Cliff Wright Jr. (7-5)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Andrew Tieva (6-0) vs. Chris Lane (8-10)

 

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 Makes Iowa Debut to Host the Welterweight Semifinals from U.S. Cellular Center on Friday, October 18th

Newport Beach, CA. (September 30, 2013) – The Toughest Tournament in Sports will make its way to Iowa for the first time on Friday, October 18th, as Cedar Rapid’s U.S. Cellular Center  plays host to Bellator MMA’s Welterweight Semifinals. The event will be broadcast live on Spike TV at 8 p.m. CT and also showcase a handful of Iowa’s local talent. Tickets for the event can be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com or by contacting the U.S. Cellular Center Box Office. 

Iowa’s own Paul Bradley will fight in front of his home state and face former Bellator Welterweight Tournament winner, Karl Amoussou. A two-time all-American wrestler at Iowa, Bradley holds an impressive 20-5 professional record and will make his Bellator debut on October 18th. 

Fellow Iowa native Joe Vedepo will also step into the Bellator cage will and face Kendall Grove in a middleweight battle. Known for developing a modified shin choke called “The Vedepo Choke”, Vedepo has won seven of his 14 victories by submission, six coming in the first round.  Four additional Iowa athletes will fight on the preliminary card and all of the preliminary fights will card will be streamed exclusively on Spike.com.

Headlining the night will be one of the most talented divisions with the Bellator Welterweight Semifinals. Judo Olympian Rick Hawn will face former Bellator Tournament Finalist Brent Weedman and the always exciting War Machine will battle semifinalist Ron Keslar.  

The full fight card is listed below.

MAIN CARD:Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal: Rick Hawn (16-2) vs. Brent Weedman (22-8-10
Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal: War Machine (14-4) vs. Ron Keslar (10-3)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Eric Prindle (8-3) vs. Peter Graham (8-5)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Kendall Grove (18-13) vs. Joe Vedepo (14-6)

PRELIMINARY CARD:

Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Bradley (20-5) vs. Karl Amoussou (16-5-2)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Rob Emerson (12-10) vs. Jared Downing (9-3)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Rod Montoya (15-15) vs. Paul Sass (13-2)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Derek Loffer (4-1) vs. Cliff Wright Jr. (7-5) 
Lightweight Feature Fight: Mike Estus (3-0) vs. Cole Williams (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 atwww.facebook.com/BellatorMMA          

Bellator Results from Grand Canyon University Arena

Phoenix, A.Z. (September 20, 2013) – The final results are in for Bellator MMA’s event live from Grand Canyon University Arena as Douglas Lima earned a $100,000 tournament prize and a guaranteed title shot with his devastating knockout victory over Ben Saunders  in the Welterweight Tournament Final.

The event also featured the Bellator Season 9 Welterweight Tournament with Brent Weedman, Ron Keslar, Rick Hawn and War Machine advancing to the semifinal rounds. Ron Keslar will face War Machine and Brent Weedman will fight Rick Hawn in the semifinals on October 18^thfrom U.S. Cellular Center from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Final: Douglas Lima defeats Ben Saunders via KO (head kick) - Round 2, 4:33

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: War Machine defeats Vaughn Anderson via technical submission (rear naked choke) – Round 2, 4:01

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Rick Hawn defeats Herman Terrado via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Ron Keslar defeats Sergio Junior via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Brent Weedman defeats Justin Baesman via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:20

Lightweight Feature Fight: Efrain Escudero defeats Zack Surdyka via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27)

Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal: Travis Marx defeats Brandon Bender via TKO (Knee to the Body and Punches) – Round 2, 4:28

Lightweight Feature Fight: LaRue Burley defeats Bubba Jenkins via TKO (Punches) – Round 3, 3:40

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Clifford Starks defeats Joe Yager via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) – Round 3, 5:00

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Liam McGeary defeats Beau Tribolet via KO (Punch) – Round 1, 0:27

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Siala-Mou “Mighty Mo” Siliga defeats Dan Charles via TKO (Punches)- Round 3, 1:26

Welterweight Feature Fight: Adam McDonough defeats Johnny Buck via TKO (Spinning Back-Kick and Punches) – Round 1, 4:51

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           

About Bellator MMA

Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes worldwide in over 115 countries, Bellator’s majority owner is entertainment giant Viacom.  In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. With over 150 world-class athletes under contract, Bellator is home to many of the sport’s top mixed martial artists. Bellator’s founder & CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment executive with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes.  Bellator’s core philosophy is that title shots should be earned, not given. This belief gave rise to Bellator’s real sport, tournament-based format, which gives Bellator’s tournaments a true playoff feel that keeps the sport true and distances itself from the subjective side of fighting sports found in organizations that utilize a matchmaking/casting formula.  Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.  Bellator is based in Newport Beach, California.

Bellator Host Live Weigh-Ins Thursday, September 19th at 5:00 p.m. PST from Grand Canyon University

Weigh-Ins will be streamed online at Bellator.com

Phoenix A.Z. (September 18, 2013) – The weigh-in and pre-fight press conference for Bellator MMA will take place Thursday at 5:00 p.m. PST inside the lobby of Grand Canyon University. Bellator MMA will take place from Grand Canyon University Arena on Friday, September 20th with the first fight taking place at 4:00 p.m. PST and streaming LIVE on Spike.com. The televised portion of the night will begin at 6:00 p.m. PST and will air LIVE on Spike TV.

All participants from Friday night’s event will be on hand, as well as Bellator CEO & Chairman Bjorn Rebney.

The event will be emceed by Bellator cage announcer Michael C. Williams and Bellator color commentator Jimmy Smith.

As always the weigh-in is open to both the public and media.

MAIN CARD

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Final: Douglas Lima (24-5) vs. Ben Saunders (16-5)

Bellator Welterweight Opening Round: War Machine (13-4) vs. Vaughn Anderson (16-1-1)

Bellator Welterweight Opening Round: Rick Hawn (15-2) vs. Herman Terrado (11-2)

Bellator Welterweight Opening Round: Brent Weedman (21-8-1) vs. Justin Baesman (14-3)

Bellator Welterweight Opening Round: Ron Keslar (10-3) vs. Sergio Junior (29-11)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal: Travis Marx (20-4) vs. Brandon Bender (11-0)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Bubba Jenkins (4-0) vs. LaRue Burley (2-0)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Beau Tribolet (7-2) vs. Liam McGeary (4-0)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Mighty Mo (3-2) vs. Dan Charles (6-0)

Welterweight Feature Fight: Johnny Buck (12-8) vs. Adam McDonough (8-0)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Joe Yager (5-2) vs. Clifford Starks (8-2)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Efrain Escudero (19-7) vs. Zack Surdyka (5-1)

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