LOS ANGELES – The full slate of bouts for Bellator’s doubleheader return to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16 has been completed with two stacked five-fight main cards and exciting preliminary matchups.
The main event of Friday’s card on Paramount Network, and simulcast on DAZN, will feature a heavyweight headliner, where former Bellator Grand Prix Semifinalist Matt Mitrione (13-6) faces Russian knockout artist Sergei Kharitonov (29-7, 1 NC). Rounding out the stacked main card will see undefeated Logan Storley (9-0) meet SBG Dublin’sIon Pascu (18-9) at welterweight, former Bellator bantamweight champ Eduardo Dantas (20-6) return from injury to meet Hawaii’s Toby Misech (12-6) at 135-pounds, and the electric Mike Kimbel (2-0) making his main card debut against Rhode Island’s John Douma (3-1). The opener of Bellator 215 will be the promotional debut of Austin Vanderford (6-0), who looks to remain undefeated against Cody Jones (6-2), a winner of four consecutive fights.
The prelims for Bellator 215: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov will be highlighted by a women’s featherweight contest featuring Amber Leibrock(3-2) against Amanda Bell (5-5), as well as top heavyweight prospect Steve Mowry (5-0) taking on Darion Abbey (Pro Debut).
A mere 24-hours later, Bellator 216 will take place exclusively on DAZN and will be headlined by one of the most intense grudge matches in MMA history. On Saturday, Feb. 16,undefeated Michael “Venom” Page (13-0) will enter the Bellator cage against 58-fight professional Paul “Semtex” Daley (40-16-2) in a first-round fight of Bellator’s Welterweight World Grand Prix. The co-main event is a rematch between two heavyweights who undoubtedly will go down in the sport’s history books, when Mirko Cro Cop (37-11-2, 1 NC) makes his Bellator debut against Roy “Big Country” Nelson (23-16).
In addition, a No. 1 contender’s bout to determine who will face newly crowned heavyweight kingpin Ryan Bader will pit Cheick Kongo (29-10-2) against undefeated, longtime former Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov (21-0). An intriguing welterweight encounter between Yaroslav Amosov (20-0) and the always-excitingErick Silva (20-9, 1 NC) is also official, as is the professional debut of multi-time taekwondo champion Valerie Loureda, when she meets Oklahoma’s Colby Fletcher (1-2) in the main card opener.
As if that wasn’t enough top-flight action, Tyrell Fortune (5-0), one of Bellator’s top homegrown prospects returns to the Bellator cage against Ryan Pokryfky (6-5) in the featured preliminary bout of Bellator 216: MVP vs. Daley.
Bellator: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov will be broadcast Friday, February 15 on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT and will stream LIVE on DAZN. Bellator: MVP vs. Daley will stream exclusively on DAZN on Saturday, February 16 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Preliminary action for both events will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App.
Tickets for both events are available now and can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, as well as Ticketmaster and Bellator.com. Fans can save when they purchase tickets to both events through the “Back-to-Back Pack!” Please visit Ticketmaster.com for more details.
Complete Bellator 215: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov Main Card:
Heavyweight Main Event Bout:Matt Mitrione (13-6) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (29-7, 1 NC)
Welterweight Co-Main Event: Logan Storley (9-0) vs. Ion Pascu (18-9)
Bantamweight Main Card Bout: Eduardo Dantas (20-6) vs. Toby Misech (12-6)
Bantamweight Main Card Bout: Mike Kimbel (2-0) vs. John Douma (3-1)
175-Pound Catchweight Main Card Bout: Austin Vanderford (6-0) vs. Cody Jones (6-2)
Preliminary Card:
Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Steve Mowry (5-0) vs. Darion Abbey (Pro Debut)
Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Amber Leibrock (3-2) vs. Amanda Bell (5-5)
Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Pat McCrohan (3-2) vs. Jason Markland (Debut)
Atomweight Preliminary Bout: Tabatha Watkins (3-0) vs. Lindsey VanZandt (4-1)
Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Pete Rogers (3-4) vs. Jason Rine (1-4)
Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Matt Probin (3-0) vs. Ali Zebian (1-0)
Flyweight Preliminary Bout: Zarrukh Adashev (1-1) vs. Ronie Arana (0-2)
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Billy Goff (1-0) vs. Ryan Hardy (Pro Debut)
Complete Bellator 216: MVP vs. Daley Main Card:
Welterweight World Grand Prix Matchup:Michael Page (13-0) vs. Paul Daley (40-16-2)
Heavyweight Co-Main Event: Mirko Cro Cop (37-11-2, 1 NC) vs. Roy Nelson (23-16)
Heavyweight Main Card Bout: Cheick Kongo (29-10-2) vs. Vitaly Minakov (21-0)
Welterweight Main Card Bout: Yaroslav Amosov (20-0) vs. Erick Silva (20-9, 1 NC)
Flyweight Main Card Bout: Valerie Loureda (Pro Debut) vs. Colby Fletcher (1-2)
Preliminary Card:
Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Tyrell Fortune (5-0) vs. Ryan Pokryfky (6-5)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Patrick Casey (4-0) vs. Nekruz Mirkhojaev (3-2)
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Vinicius De Jesus (6-2) vs. Rodolpho Barcellos (1-0)
RORY MACDONALD DEFENDS WORLD TITLE AGAINST JON FITCH IN OPENING ROUND OF WELTERWEIGHT WORLD GRAND PRIX
ALSO, UNDEFEATED FLYWEIGHT CHAMP ILIMA-LEI MACFARLANE MEETS VETA ARTEAGA IN THE CO-MAIN EVENT
LOS ANGELES – The fourth and final opening round matchup in the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix will feature Bellator’s current welterweight champion Rory MacDonald (20-5) defending his title in the tournament against Jon Fitch(31-7-1, 1 NC) when Bellator returns to the Bay Area inside SAP Center at San Jose on Saturday, April 27.
In addition, undefeated Bellator flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane(9-0) will return to action against Boise, Idaho’s Veta Arteaga(5-2) in the co-headliner. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.
An exclusive online presale for this event takes place Wednesday, Jan. 30 through Thursday, Jan. 31, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday, Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets will be available at the ThreatMetrix Ticket Office at SAP Center at San Jose, as well as Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com.
Bellator: MacDonald vs. Fitch will stream live exclusively on DAZN, the fastest-growing sports streaming service in the world, at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App.
Inarguably one of the greatest 170-pound fighters walking the planet, Rory MacDonald returns to the welterweight division following a once-in-a-lifetime “champion vs. champion” matchup against Gegard Mousasi in 2018. Now, “The Red King” sets his sights on one million dollars and clearing the landscape at welterweight, entering a tournament where he will defend his belt each and every time he steps inside the cage. First up for the British Columbia, Canada-native is Jon Fitch, a 40-fight veteran who has gone toe-to-toe with the some of the sport’s best, including Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Jake Shields and Paul Daley. Now, close to home, the AKA trained-fighter will have his first shot at Bellator gold.
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane closed out 2018 in style, remaining undefeated and defending her title in front of a sold-out Blaisdell Arena during Bellator’s debut in Hawaii. Finishing Valerie Letourneau via submission was the toughest test of the 28-year-old’s budding career, but now it’s back to business for the only flyweight champion in Bellator history, as she puts her belt on the line against Veta Arteaga in the co-main event. A native of Boise, Idaho, Arteaga has called Bellator home since 2016, when she made her promotional debut against Macfarlane’s Team Hurricane Awesome teammate Jackie Vandenburgh, a fight she won via unanimous decision. Now, after racking up three more victories, including wins against Bellator Kickboxing champion Denise Kielholtz and former flyweight title challenger Emily Ducote, 31-year-old Arteaga is ready for her opportunity to become champion.
Updated Bellator: MacDonald vs. Fitch Fight Card:
Welterweight World Grand Prix Title Bout: Rory MacDonald (20-5) vs. Jon Fitch (31-7-1, 1 NC)
Flyweight World Title Bout: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (9-0) vs. Veta Arteaga (5-2)
LOS ANGELES – The full slate of bouts for Bellator’s return to the “Fabulous” Forum in Inglewood, Calif. on Jan. 26 has been completed with a five-fight main card and 11 preliminary contests.
The main event of the card will feature the Finals of the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix, where the greatest heavyweight of all-time Fedor Emelianenko (38-5, 1 NC) faces current light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader (26-5) for the Bellator world heavyweight title. The co-main event will feature the highly touted prospect Aaron Pico (4-1) against the always-tough Henry Corrales (16-3) at featherweight.
In addition, professional wrestling superstar Jake Hager begins his MMA career against J.W. Kiser (1-1) at heavyweight, Juan Archuleta (21-1) squares off with Ricky Bandejas (11-1) in a battle of surging bantamweights and Adel Altamimi(7-5), a coach with Jay Glazer’s Merging Vets and Players program, will make his Bellator debut against Brandon McMahan (5-6) in the main card opener. The prelims for Bellator 214: Fedor vs. Bader will feature the anticipated MMA debut of jiu-jitsu ace A.J. Agazarm (0-0) against Jesse Roberts (0-0), as well as the Bellator debut of 2016 Greco-Roman Word team member Chris Gonzalez(1-0) taking on Henry Mendez (0-1) and Lyoto Machida-training partner, Weber Almeida (1-0), facing Odan Chinchilla (1-0) at bantamweight.
Tickets for Bellator 214: Fedor vs. Bader are on sale now and can be purchased at the Forum box office, as well as Bellator.com and Ticketmaster.com. The event will be broadcast live and free on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT and will be simulcast live on DAZN. Preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App.
Complete Bellator: Fedor vs. Bader Fight Card:
Heavyweight World Grand Prix Finals Main Event: Fedor Emelianenko(38-5, 1 NC) vs. Ryan Bader (26-5)
Featherweight Co-Main Event: Aaron Pico (4-1) vs. Henry Corrales (16-3)
ALSO, TICKETS FOR BELLATOR: KORESHKOV VS. LARKIN ON SALE THIS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14
LOS ANGELES – Bellator returns to Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. on Friday, March 29 with an exciting welterweight clash, as former 170-pound world champion Andrey Koreshkov (21-3) squares off against Southern California native Lorenz Larkin (20-7, 1 NC) in the headliner.
Tickets for the event go on sale this Friday, December 14 and will be available at the Pechanga box office, as well as Bellator.com, Ticketmaster.com and Pechanga.com. The event will be broadcast live and free on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT and simulcast on DAZN.com, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.
Hailing from Omsk, Russia, 28-year-old Andrey Koreshkov will enter this bout on the heels of a 23-minute marathon with Douglas Lima in the opening round of the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix only a few months ago. “Spartan” will be making his 16th career appearance for Bellator and his first of his 2019 campaign. Since joining Bellator, Koreshkov has tallied a dozen victories over his six-year stint, emphasized by a welterweight world title win over former division king Douglas Lima at Bellator 140. Training alongside another former Bellator champion inAlexander Shlemenko, Koreshkov has earned 21 career wins over 24 bouts, including 15 finishes since making his professional debut in 2010. Of his 15 finishes, 12 have come by way of knockout and 10 via first-round KO, making the Russian knockout artist one of the toughest tests Larkin has ever faced. Koreshkov will look to add to an already impressive professional resume when he returns to action at Pechanga Resort Casino on March 29.
Larkin enters a pivotal main event matchup following a pair of victories over Fernando Gonzalez at Bellator 193 and Ion Pascu at Bellator 207. The official alternate in Bellator’s Welterweight World Grand Prix, “Da Monsoon” has held his own against the promotion’s elite, also competing against Douglas Lima and Paul Daley. Proudly hailing from Riverside, Calif., Pechanga Resort Casino provides an ideal site for the Millenia MMA-product to extend his current winning streak and put on a show for a raucous partisan crowd. With 11 of his 20 career victories coming via knockout, the 32-year-old striker hopes to add yet another former champion to his list of victims when he takes on Koreshkov in Temecula.
Updated Bellator: Koreshkov vs.Larkin Fight Card:
Welterweight Main Event: Andrey Koreshkov (21-3) vs. Lorenz Larkin (20-7, 1 NC)
FRIDAY NIGHT HEADLINED BY MATT MITRIONE VS. SERGEI KHARITONOV IN HEAVYWEIGHT CLASH
SATURDAY’S CARD TO FEATURE ‘MVP’ VS. PAUL DALEY IN WELTERWEIGHT WORLD GRAND PRIX GRUDGE MATCH & A HEAVYWEIGHT NO. 1 CONTENDER’S BOUT PITTING CHEICK KONGO AGAINST VITALY MINAKOV
LOS ANGELES –On February 15 and 16, Bellator returns to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. for two back-to-back nights of exciting MMA action.
On Friday, the event will be anchored by a heavyweight battle between Matt Mitrione (13-6) and Sergei Kharitonov (29-7, 1 NC), while Saturday’s show will see the long-awaited matchup between Michael “Venom” Page (13-0) and Paul Daley (40-16-2) headline in a Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix opening round pairing. In addition, the card will also see a heavyweight No. 1 contender’s bout between Cheick Kongo (29-10-2) and undefeated former Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov (21-0).
Tickets for both events are available early through an exclusive Bellator Nation pre-sale beginning Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets will go on sale to the general public Friday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, as well as Ticketmaster and Bellator.com. Fans can save when they purchase tickets to both events through the “Back-to-Back Pack!” Please visit Ticketmaster.com for more details.
Bellator: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov will be broadcast Friday, February 15 on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT and will stream LIVE on DAZN.
Bellator: MVP vs. Daley will stream exclusively on DAZN on Saturday, February 16 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Preliminary action for both events will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App. Additional bouts will be announced in coming weeks.
Fresh off an impressive semi-final run in Bellator’s Heavyweight World Grand Prix, Matt Mitrione returns to action on February 15 against a true veteran in Sergei Kharitonov. The former Purdue football defensive lineman splits his training between Indianapolis and Combat Club in South Florida, and is in the best shape of his fighting career. Recently, Mitrione has defeated Roy Nelson and Fedor Emelianenko, adding to an already-impressive list of career victories.The man dubbed “The Paratrooper,” Kharitonov is the owner of an equally notable MMA resume, with the 38-year-old scoring wins against some of the sport’s most marquee names, including an incredible performance against Roy Nelson, as well as Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski, Pedro Rizzo, Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Alistair Overeem.
One of the most unorthodox strikers to ever compete for Bellator, “MVP” has steadily worked his way up the welterweight ranks since signing with the organization in 2013. Known for his antics both inside the cage and out, every Michael Page fight is must-see entertainment. With an undefeated record of 13-0, and 11 of those victories coming by stoppage, the 31-year-old out of London Shootfighters finally meets up with fellow Brit and longtime rival, Paul Daley. A veteran of Strikeforce, UFC and BAMMA, Nottingham’s Daley has competed professionally since 2003. Throughout his career, “Semtex” has been one half of some of the most memorable bouts in MMA history, including a knockout of the year over Brennan Ward in 2017.
A rematch of Bellator 115, Cheick Kongo will look for redemption against Bellator’s longest reigning heavyweight champion, when Vitaly Minakov returns for his first fight with the promotion since 2014. A winner of seven straight, including two consecutive first-round knockouts over Timothy Johnson and Javy Ayala, Kongo has earned the opportunity to compete in a No. 1 contender’s bout. Undefeated as a professional, Minakov earned a victory against Alexander Volkov, as well as a previous win against Kongo, in his previous Bellator stint, and later continued his winning ways in Russia against “Bigfoot” Silva and Tony Johnson. The two now meet to determine who will go on to face the winner of Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader.
Updated Bellator: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov Fight Card:
Heavyweight Main Event Bout:Matt Mitrione (13-6) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (29-7, 1 NC)
Updated Bellator: MVP vs. Daley Fight Card:
Welterweight World Grand Prix Matchup:Michael Page (13-0) vs. Paul Daley (40-16-2)
Heavyweight Main Card Bout: Cheick Kongo (29-10-2) vs. Vitaly Minakov (21-0)
LOS ANGELES –Following his exciting back-and-forth championship bout at Bellator 209 earlier this month, Emmanuel Sanchez (17-4) quickly returns to featherweight action on Friday, March 22 at WinStar World Casino and Resort against one of Bellator’s newest European signings, Ashleigh Grimshaw (20-10-1, 3 NC).
The event will be broadcast live and free on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, as well as DAZN.com, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App. Ticketsare on sale now and can be purchased at the WinStar World Casino and Resort box office, as well as through Ticketmaster and Bellator.com. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.
The 28-year-old, nicknamed “El Matador,” will serve as Bellator’s headliner for the second consecutive time in his 13th fight with the promotion. A homegrown fighter from the famed Roufusport MMA Academy in Milwaukee has defeated a who’s who of 145-pounders including former champions Daniel Straus and Marcos Galvao, as well as standouts Sam Sicilia, Justin Lawrence and Georgi Karakhanyan. Now, Sanchez looks to immediately put himself back into contender status with a tough test on March 22.
Based out of London, Ashleigh “The White Wolf” Grimshaw has competed professionally since 2003, amassing more than 30 professional bouts across the European MMA scene. Unbeaten in his last four contests, Grimshaw has finished his opponent 18 times in his 20 victories. Now, set for his promotional debut with Bellator, the 36-year-old will be looking to make noise in a division currently championed by Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.
Updated Bellator: Sanchez vs. Grimshaw Fight Card:
Featherweight Main Event Bout:Emmanuel Sanchez (17-4) vs. Ashleigh Grimshaw (20-10-1, 3 NC)
LOS ANGELES –Bellator is pleased to announce that the organization’s current bantamweight titleholderDarrion Caldwell (13-1) will represent the promotion in an exciting matchup against 2017 Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix winner Kyoji Horiguchi (25-2). The two will compete for the inaugural Rizin bantamweight championship at Rizin 14 on Monday, Dec. 31 from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
In the three-round (15-minute) Rizin FF world championship bout – which will be held in a ring under Rizin’s unique rule set – the victor of Caldwell vs. Horiguchi will leave Japan’s historic combat sports venue a Rizin FF champion. Caldwell’s Bellator bantamweight title will not be on the line in the contest.
The latest agreement between Bellator and Rizin FF furthers a collaboration between the two companies which has seen multiple athletes, including Fedor Emelianenko, “King Mo” Lawal andHisaki Kato amongst others, compete interpromotionally, but never before has a title from either promotion been on the line.
“Working for the Japanese fight company K-1 was a magical time during my promotional career and I have always felt strongly that MMA in the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ would rise again. It truly is amazing to see what Nobuyuki Sakakibara has been able to do thus far with Rizin FF, so when he reached out to me about putting Darrion Caldwell against Kyoji Horiguchi for Rizin’s belt, we spoke to Darrion and he jumped at the opportunity,” Bellator President Scott Coker said. “Bellator wants to support Rizin, and by sending our bantamweight champion to compete during their New Year’s Eve event, we look forward to this leading towards more collaboration between the two promotions in 2019. I want to wish Darrion luck in his quest to prove he is the best 135-pound fighter on the planet.”
“I am very grateful and honored that Bellator and Scott Coker would send us their unarguable bantamweight champion to fight for Rizin’s first-ever world title fight. This title fight will be a true champion vs. champion to determine the world’s best bantamweight fighter,” Rizin FF President Nobuyuki Sakakibara said. “We hope this kind gesture will kick off of a series of exciting matchups between both promotions in 2019. My dream would be that eventually we can co-promote a mega event in both countries with a ‘Champion Carnival’ taking place where stories and rivalries can be built and told.”
Caldwell, a 30-year-old Rahway, N.J. native and the current Bellator bantamweight champion, most recently moved up a weight class to challenge himself, successfully finishing veteran Noad Lahat. Fighting out of San Diego, Calif., “The Wolf” has emerged as one of the most well-rounded fighters in the world, collecting 10 victories since signing with Bellator in 2013. The 2009 NCAA D-1 National Champion wrestler from NC State boasts a resume that includes five first-round finishes, a 25-minute war against Eduardo Dantas to claim the world title and a textbook guillotine choke submission victory over Leandro Higo in his first career title defense earlier this year. Caldwell will look for fifth consecutive win and a second world title belt when he enters the ring against Kyoji Horiguchi on New Year’s Eve in Japan.
