SANTA MONICA, Calif. (September 22, 2015) – Bellator MMA continues to stack the deck for its return to Scottrade Center in Saint Louis on November 6, when former lightweight champion “Iron” Michael Chandler (13-3) meets David “The Caveman” Rickels (16-3, 1 NC) in a rematch that takes place during the main card of “Bellator 145: Vengeance,” which airs live on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
In addition, three preliminary contests have also been added to the event, when Vince Eazelle (9-2) faces Chris Heatherly (9-3, 1 NC), Scott Ettling (2-0) meets Garrett Mueller(2-0) and Garrett Gross (6-4) takes on Luke Nelson (2-1). The aforementioned preliminary bouts will stream exclusively on Spike.com at 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT.
Top billing at the Nov. 6 event features two world title bouts – Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (24-2) defends his featherweight strap against Daniel Straus (23-6) and Will “Ill Will” Brooks (16-1) meets submission specialist Marcin Held (21-3) with the 155-pound belt on the line. “Bellator 145: Vengeance” on Spike will also feature heavyweight contender Bobby “The Dominator” Lashley (13-2) in action.
Tickets for “Bellator 145: Vengeance,” which start at just $30, are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com and the Ford Box Office at Scottrade Center. Doors for the event open at 5:00 p.m. CT local time and the first contest takes place shortly after.
After dropping fights to the current divisional kingpin, Chandler bounced back with a highlight-reel worthy finish of Derek Campos at the record setting “Bellator 138: Unfinished Business” event in July. “Iron” Mike recently left his longtime home of Alliance MMA in San Diego, Calif., to link up with Power MMA in Arizona. A favorite of Saint Louis, Chandler will have his home state of Missouri strongly in his corner on November 6.
Coming off a controversial, yet dominant performance against John Alessio in the main event of “Bellator 139: Kongo vs. Volkov,” Rickels looks to wipe the bad taste of a no-contest out of his mouth in a rematch against Chandler. Having already faced his Nov. 6 opponent at “Bellator 97: Chandler vs. Rickels” in 2013, “The Caveman” will have more than just title hopes on his mind. It’s also worth mentioning that this will be the first time Rickels will compete on a “tent-pole” event under Scott Coker, which means there could be a can’t miss walkout at “Bellator 145: Vengeance.”
“Bellator 145: Vengeance” Updated Fight Card
Main Card:
Bellator Featherweight World Title Bout: Patricio Freire (24-2) vs. Daniel Straus (23-6)
Bellator Lightweight World Title Bout: Will Brooks (16-1) vs. Marcin Held (21-3)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Pat Curran (21-7) vs. Justin Lawrence (7-2)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Michael Chandler (13-3) vs. David Rickels (16-3, 1 NC)
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Bout: Bobby Lashley (13-2) vs. TBD
Preliminary Card:
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Vince Eazelle (9-2) vs. Chris Heatherly (9-3, 1 NC)
Bellator Bantamweight Feature Bout: Scott Ettling (2-0) vs. Garrett Mueller (2-0)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Garrett Gross (6-4) vs. Luke Nelson (2-1)