NTXIV, THE DEBUT OF ROY ‘BIG COUNTRY’ NELSON VS. JAVY AYALA IN HEAVYWEIGHT CO-MAIN EVENT

TSEEM, BELLATOR KICKBOXING 7 HEADLINED BY WELTERWEIGHT TITLE BOUT BETWEEN CHAMP KARIM GHAJJI AND

RAYMOND DANIELS

LOS ANGELES – Bellator returns home to SAP Center in San Jose, California. nyob rau hnub Saturday, Cuaj hlis 23 rau Bellator 183 thiab Bellator Kickboxing 7, which features the return of former world champ “Smooth” Benson Henderson (24-7) taking on the always-dangerous Patricky “Pitbull” (17-8), while current Bellator welterweight kickboxing champ Karim Ghajji (97-13-1) defends his title against the flashy Raymond Daniels (11-3).

Nyob rau hauv tas li ntawd, Bellator 183: Henderson vs. Pitbull will also feature the promotional debut of Roy “Big Country” Nelson (23-14) who meets California’s own Javy “Eye Candy” Ayala (10-5) in an explosive heavyweight showdown. Additional contests will be announced in the coming weeks.

Bellator 183: Henderson vs. Pitbull will be broadcast live and free on SPIKE at 9 p.m. THIAB/8 p.m. I, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and the Bellator Mobile App. Tickets for the event go on sale Thursday, Lub rau hli ntuj 29 ntawm 10:00 a.m. PST and are available at Ticketmaster.com.

Following what many considered to be 2016’s “Fight of the Year” against Michael Chandler, Henderson took time off to deal with nagging injuries. Tam sim no, the 33-year-old is back to 100-percent and ready to take on the other “Pitbull” brother, following a victory against Bellator’s current featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull”at Bellator 160 nyob rau hauv lub yim hli ntuj ntawm xyoo tas los. With wins against Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone, Frankie Edgar, Gilbert Melendez and Jorge Masvidal already in his nearly 11 years as a professional, “Smooth” is healthy again and looking for another championship run in his already-impressive career.

Patricky “Pitbull” comes into this bout seeking revenge against Henderson following his TKO win over younger brother, Patrick. The Rio Grande Do Norte, Brazil product steps inside the Bellator cage for the18th time in his professional career and will be looking to build on an impressive start to his 2017 phiaj los nqis tes. Having won seven of his last 10 xaus, including a second-round finish of Josh Thomson at Bellator 172 nyob rau hauv Lub ob hlis ntuj, the 31-year-old has seen 11 ntawm nws 12 career finishes come by way of knockout.

The inaugural Bellator welterweight kickboxing champion, Ghajji, traded victories with Zoltan Laszak on his road to meeting Daniels on September 23. The 36-year-old, known to many by the nickname “Gadjetboy,” will be making his fifth appearance under the Bellator Kickboxing umbrella, and will look to successfully defend his title for the first time since reclaiming the belt in April at Bellator Kickboxing 6 nyob rau hauv Hungary.

Hailing from Los Angeles, Daniels will bring his aggressive, one-of-a-kind karate style to Northern California for the first time since debuting with Bellator last year. Undefeated with the promotion — earning three stoppages in four outings — “The Real Deal” will look to punish the body of Ghajji when Daniels competes to claim his first world kickboxing title.

Sib ntaus sib tua tawm ntawm Las Vegas, Nelson makes his Bellator debut following an eight-year, 19-fight run with UFC that saw him earn wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, “Bigfoot” Silva and Cheick Kongo. Nrog 19 ntawm nws 22 hauj lwm yeej los ntawm txoj kev ntawm knockout los yog kev mloog lus, “Big Country” is ready to make his return to Spike, where he memorably defeated the late Kimbo Slice and later went on to win season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Ayala will enter the Bellator cage against Nelson looking for another shocking upset following his last outing against Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 163, where Ayala stole the show against Kharitonov by stopping the Russian heavyweight with a powerful punch a mere 16-seconds into the first round. Tam sim no, given the opportunity to formally welcome Nelson to the Bellator fray, “Eye Candy” is looking to stun the crowd once again and firmly establish himself as a threat to the entire heavyweight division. With all five of Ayala’s wins in Bellator coming by way of stoppage, the matchup with Nelson is sure to produce fireworks.

 

Tshiab Bellator 183: Henderson vs. Pitbull Fight Card

Lightweight Main Event: Benson Henderson (24-7) vs. Patricky "Pitbull" Freire (17-8)

Heavyweight Co-Main Event: Roy Nelson (23-14) vs. Javy Ayala (10-5)

 

Tshiab Bellator Kickboxing 7: Ghajji vs. Daniels Fight Card

Welterweight Kickboxing World Title Main Event: Karim Ghajji (97-13-1) vs. Raymond Daniels (11-3)

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About Bellator:

Bellator is a leading mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Nyob rau hauv cov kev coj ntawm qub tub rog sib ntaus pab txhawb Scott Coker, Bellator yog muaj rau ze li ntawm 1 billion people worldwide in over 160 lub teb chaws. Nyob rau hauv lub tebchaws United States, Bellator can be seen on SPIKE, the combat sports television leader. Bellator is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, nyob kev tshwm sim orchestration, fighter txoj kev loj hlob / kev sib raug zoo, venue ceev, sponsorship creation / kev loj hlob, thoob ntiaj teb daim ntawv tso cai, marketing, advertising, tshaj tawm thiab commission kev sib raug zoo. Bellator is based in Hollywood, California. and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, lub tsev mus rau lub ntiaj teb premier lom zem hom uas txuas nrog audiences los ntawm yuam cov ntsiab lus nyob rau hauv TV, tsab ntawv tsa suab duab, hauv internet thiab mobile platforms.

 

Hais txog ntsia hlau loj:

Ntsia hlau loj  is available in 98.7 million  homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. Ib tug unit ntawm Viacom (Nasdaq: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media tes hauj lwm yog ib tug ntawm lub ntiaj teb uas creators ntawm programming thiab cov ntsiab lus nyob rau tag nrho tawm platforms. Spike’s Internet address is  www.spike.com  and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike’s press site at  http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter  spiketvpr  for the latest in breaking news updates, qab-lub-scenes cov ntaub ntawv thiab cov duab.