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SANTA MONICA, Calif. (May 18, 2015) – A card loaded with explosive contests has received one more potential slugfest, as middleweight sluggers Joe “Stitch ‘Em Up” Schilling (2-4) and Hisaki Kato (4-1) will clash in the fourth and final main-card matchup of next month’s “Bellator MMA: Kongo vs. Volkov” event which airs live on Spike.
Headlined by a heavyweight contest between French striking specialist Cheick Kongo (22-10-2) and former Bellator MMA Heavyweight World Champion Alexander “Drago” Volkov (24-5), “Bellator MMA: Kongo vs. Volkov” takes place June 26 at Kansas Star Event Center Arena in Mulvane, Kan.
Additional matchups include lightweights Dave “The Caveman” Rickels (16-3) vs. John “The Natural” Alessio (35-17) and former Bellator MMA Featherweight Champion Pat “Paddy Mike” Curran (20-7) taking on Goiti Yamauchi (18-2).
The night’s main card airs live and free on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts stream on Spike.com. Additional bouts will be announced shortly.
Tickets for “Bellator MMA: Kongo vs. Volkov,” which start at just $17 and include cage side seats for just $97, are currently available at Ticketmaster.com.
The 31-year-old Schilling has been fighting professionally since 2006, starting his combat sports career in muay Thai, where he earned both U.S. and world titles. Since he’s turned his focus to MMA, Schilling continues to compete in kickboxing events, as well, working his way to GLORY’s Last Man Standing tournament this past June, competing three times in a single evening. Schilling made his Bellator MMA debut in November, scoring a “Knockout of the Year” candidate stoppage of noted striker Melvin Manhoef.
A karate stylist who first made his name in Japan in the sport of Kudo – a hybrid version of MMA that involves fighting in a gi, gloves and a mask – the 32-year-old Kato will fight in the U.S. on June 26th for the first time. Kato’s transition in 2013 to traditional MMA rules has proven to be a rousing success, as he’s earned four knockout victories in his first five bouts. Three of those wins were earned in the first round, including an April 2014 victory that came in just 53 seconds.
“Bellator MMA: Kongo vs. Volkov” – Friday, June 26, Kanas Star Event Center Arena, Mulvane, Kansas
Bellator Heavyweight Main Event: Cheick Kongo (22-10-2) vs. Alexander Volkov (24-5)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Fight: Dave Rickels (16-3) vs. John Alessio (35-17)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Fight: Pat Curran (20-7) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (18-2)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Fight: Joe Schilling (2-4) vs. Hisaki Kato (4-1)