New York, NY, April 7, 2016 - Matt Mitrione, a former NFL defensive lineman and current Bellator MMA heavyweight will join Bellator MMA play-by-play announcer and The Voice of the Boston Celtics, Be Large as the broadcast duo for Bellator’s inaugural kickboxing event, "Bellator kickboksen: Torino"Op Zaterdag, April 16 from the historic Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italië. The announcement was jointly made today by Bellator President Scott Coker and Jon Slusser, Senior Vice President, Sport en Specials, Spike TV.
Mitrione joined Bellator MMA in early March after a stellar start to his career in the UFC. His 14-bout stint with that promotion began in 2009 on “The Ultimate Fighter,” airing on Spike. His list of formidable opponents included: Kimbo Slice, Gabriel Gonzaga, Ben Rothwell, Derrick Lewis, Brendan Schaub, Roy Nelson, Shawn Jordan, and Travis Browne among others.
Voorafgaand aan het concurreren in MMA, Mitrione earned a scholarship to play defensive tackle for the Purdue Boilermakers, not far from where he grew up in Springfield, Ziek. Na de universiteit, he played in the NFL for the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings until 2005.
Sean Grande has served as Bellator’s play-by-play announcer since July of 2015. Completing his 18th season in the NBA and 15th as the voice of the Boston Celtics, Epische rekening van de twee maanden durende run naar de Grande 2008 World Championship cemented his status as one of the nation’s elite play-callers. He is joined by analyst Cedric Maxwell for all Boston Celtics games. Since shortly after their 2001 pairing, "Grande en Max" hebben één van Boston's populairste en meest iconische on-air combinaties worden.
Op mei 20, 2013, Grande maakte zijn Major League Baseball-debuut, after being named the alternate play-by-play voice of the World Champion Boston Red Sox. It completed his cycle of broadcasting major pro sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA en MLS).
"Bellator kickboksen: Torino” will be televised Vrijdag, April 22 bij 11:00 p.m. EN/PT, immediately following “Bellator 153: Koreshkov vs. Henderson” on Spike.
Complete “Bellator Kickboxing: Torino” Fight Card:
Bellator kickboksen Middengewicht Main Event: Melvin Manhoef (37-12) vs. Alexandru Negrea (8-2)
Bellator kickboksen 165-Pound Feature Bout: Mustapha Haida (37-3-3) vs. Karim Ghajji (95-12)
Bellator kickboksen Weltergewicht Featur
Bellator kickboksen Vlieggewicht Feature Bout: Denise Kielholtz (43-2) vs. Veronica Vernocchi (31-6-1)
Bellator kickboksen Bantamgewicht Featur