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罗里·麦克唐纳 (20-5) defending his title in the tournament against乔恩惠誉(31-7-1, 1 NC) when Bellator returns to the Bay Area inside SAP Center at San Jose on Saturday, 四月 27.
此外, undefeated Bellator flyweight championIlima雷·麦克法兰(9-0) will return to action against Boise, Idaho’s女杰阿特亚加(5-2) in the co-headliner. 另外的较量将在未来几周内公布.
An exclusive online presale for this event takes place Wednesday, 一月. 30 至周四, 一月. 31, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday, 二月. 1 在 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.
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 againstGegard Mousasi 在 2018. 现在, “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. 佩恩, Jake Shields and保罗·戴利. 现在, 离家近, the AKA trained-fighter will have his first shot at Bellator gold.
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane closed out 2018 很有型, remaining undefeated and defending her title in front of a sold-out Blaisdell Arena during Bellator’s debut in Hawaii. Finishing瓦莱丽·莱图尔诺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, 爱达荷州, 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. 现在, after racking up three more victories, including wins against Bellator Kickboxing championDenise Kielholtzand former flyweight title challenger艾米丽·杜科特（Emily Ducote）, 31-year-old Arteaga is ready for her opportunity to become champion.
LOS ANGELES– The full slate of bouts for Bellator’s return to the “Fabulous” Forum in Inglewood, 加利福尼亚州. 上月. 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费多尔艾米连科 (38-5, 1 NC) faces current light heavyweight champ瑞安贝德 (26-5) for the Bellator world heavyweight title. The co-main event will feature the highly touted prospect亚伦微微 (4-1) against the always-tough亨利·科拉莱斯 (16-3) 在轻量级.
此外, professional wrestling superstar杰克·黑格begins his MMA career againstJ.W. 凯泽 (1-1) 重量级, 胡安·阿丘利塔 (21-1) 广场与关闭瑞奇托盘 (11-1) in a battle of surging bantamweights and阿德尔Altamimi(7-5), a coach with Jay Glazer’s Merging Vets and Players program, will make his Bellator debut againstBrandon McMahan (5-6) 在主开卡器中. 预赛Bellator 214: 费多尔VS. 巴德尔will feature the anticipated MMA debut of jiu-jitsu aceA.J. Agazarm (0-0) 针对Jesse Roberts(0-0), as well as the Bellator debut of 2016 希腊罗马词团队成员克里斯·冈萨雷斯(1-0) 承担亨利·门德斯(0-1) 和Lyoto Machida——培训伙伴, 韦伯阿尔梅达 (1-0), 面对奥丹·金吉拉(1-0) 在最轻量级.
ALSO,TICKETS FOR BELLATOR: KORESHKOV VS. LARKIN ON SALE THIS FRIDAY, 十二月 14
LOS ANGELES– Bellator returns to Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, 加利福尼亚州. 在周五, 三月 29 with an exciting welterweight clash, as former 170-pound world champion安德烈Koreshkov (21-3) squares off against Southern California native洛伦茨·拉尔金 (20-7, 1 NC) in the headliner.
活动事件的门票开始发售本星期五, 十二月 14 and will be available at the Pechanga box office, 以及Bellator.com, Ticketmaster.com and Pechanga.com. 该活动将在以下网站上免费现场直播： 9 P.M. ET / 8时三十分. CT and simulcast on DAZN.com, 而初步行动将流于Bellator.com和全球的Bellator移动应用. 另外的较量将在未来几周内公布.
Hailing from Omsk, 俄罗斯, 28-year-old Andrey Koreshkov will enter this bout on the heels of a 23-minute marathon with道格拉斯·利马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 运动. 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道格拉斯·利马 在Bellator 140. Training alongside another former Bellator champion in亚历山大Shlemenko, Koreshkov has earned 21 career wins over 24 结束, 含 15 finishes since making his professional debut in 2010. 他的 15 饰面, 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冈萨雷斯 在Bellator 193和离子帕斯库 在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道格拉斯·利马 和保罗·戴利. Proudly hailing from Riverside, 加利福尼亚州。, 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. 同 11 他 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.
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 - 二月 15 和 16, Bellator returns to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, 康涅狄格州. for two back-to-back nights of exciting MMA action.
在周五, the event will be anchored by a heavyweight battle betweenMatt Mitrione (13-6) 和谢尔盖Kharitonov (29-7, 1 NC), while Saturday’s show will see the long-awaited matchup between迈克尔“毒液”页面 (13-0) 和保罗·戴利 (40-16-2) headline in a Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix opening round pairing. 此外, the card will also see a heavyweight No. 1 contender’s bout between谢赫·金刚 (29-10-2) and undefeated former Bellator heavyweight champion维塔利Minakov (21-0).
Tickets for both events are available early through an exclusive Bellator Nation pre-sale beginning Wednesday, 十二月. 5 在 10 A.M. AND. 门票将出售给公众周五, 十二月. 7 在 10 A.M. AND. 门票可在金神体育馆售票处购买, 以及票务和Bellator.com. 粉丝可以通过“背靠背包”购买这两个活动的门票时节省!” 请访问 Ticketmaster.com 了解更多详情.
Bellator: MVP vs. 戴利周六将在 DAZN 独家直播, 二月 16 在 10 P.M. ET /下午7时. PT. 两项活动的初步行动将在 Bellator.com 和全球范围内通过 Bellator 移动应用程序进行直播. 另外的较量将在未来几周内公布.
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. 最近, Mitrione has defeated罗伊·尼尔森 和费多尔艾米连科, adding to an already-impressive list of career victories.The man dubbed “The Paratrooper,” Kharitonov 拥有一份同样著名的 MMA 简历, 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, 安德烈Arlovski, 佩德罗里佐, 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, 和 11 of those victories coming by stoppage, the 31-year-old out of London Shootfighters finally meets up with fellow Brit and longtime rival, 保罗·戴利. 突击队的老兵, UFC and BAMMA, Nottingham’s Daley has competed professionally since 2003. 在他的整个职业生涯中, “ Semtex”一直是MMA历史上最令人难忘的一回合的一半, 包括在Brennan Ward的年度淘汰赛 2017.
A rematch ofBellator 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蒂莫西·约翰逊和Javy阿亚拉, 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瑞安贝德.
LOS ANGELES - Bellator is pleased to announce that the organization’s current bantamweight titleholderDarrion考德威尔 (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 atRizin 14 周一, 十二月. 31 from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, 日本.
In the three-round (15-分钟) 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, 含 费多尔艾米连科, “莫景” 拉瓦尔 和久木加藤 除其他, 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总裁Scott Coker的说. “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.”
考德威尔, 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 veteranNoad所有. 战斗圣地亚哥出来, 加利福尼亚州。, “The Wolf” has emerged as one of the most well-rounded fighters in the world, collecting 10 victories since signing with Bellator in 2013. 该 2009 NCAA D-1 National Champion wrestler from NC State boasts a resume that includes five first-round finishes, a 25-minute war against爱德华多·丹塔斯to claim the world title and a textbook guillotine choke submission victory over莱昂德罗肥后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.
