FULL FIGHT PHOTOS / VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

Alexander Shlemenko returns with a patented livershot TKO over Kendall Grove

 

Memphis (Oct. 21, 2016) – The most decorated middleweight in Bellator history, Alexander Shlemenko (54-9, 1NC) returned to the cagetonight in a big way against Kendall Grove (23-16). The first round saw aggressive back and forth action with each fighter getting rocked. Shlemenko successfully utilized powerful spinning backfists and heelkicks to close the distance on the 6’6 Hawaiian. “The Storm” stalked Grove throughout the cage before ultimately connecting with a nasty combo that saw a left hand to the liver, followed by a right hand to the chin, sending his towering opponent to the mat. Shlemenko followed up with a barrage of strikes to “Da Spyda” before “Big John” McCarthy waved the fight off at 1:43 of the second frame.

 

 

 

 

Lashley sinks in a rear-naked choke to end Appelt’s night in round two

 

Bobby Lashley (15-2) continued to live up to his nickname of “The Dominator” as he tossed his opponent, Josh Appelt (12-6) to the mat at will. Throughout the first round, Lashley jockeyed for position as he rained down punches while trying to lock in a submission in front of his friend from his days as a WWE Superstar, Jerry “The King” Lawler, who watched from his cage side seat. Appelt landed a couple strikes to start the second frame before being slammed to the mat and ultimately submitted with a one-armed rear-naked choke at 1:43 of Round 2.

 

 

 

 

Yamauchi finishes Couture with armbar submission just one minute into bout

 

The 23-year-old submission specialist Goiti Yamauchi (20-3) defeated Ryan Couture (10-5) via arm bar submission just 1:01 into the opening round. Making his lightweight debut, Yamauchi becomes the first opponent to submit Couture over his 15-fight career. The win gives the Brazilian-Japanese prospect 20 total over his career, including five since joining the Scott Coker-led promotion back in 2013. The slick arm bar marks the 16^th submission victory for Yamauchi, 13 of which have come in the first frame.

 

 

 

 

Kato scores TKO victory over Matthews

 

The first televised fight of the evening featured two highly gifted strikers in A.J. Matthews (8-6), a muay-Thai practitioner and Hisaki Kato(7-2), who holds a black belt in Kyokushin Karate. Both fighters exchanged great combinations throughout the entirety of the first round, with Matthews even wobbling Kato halfway through the frame. but was unable to capitalize, allowing Kato to regain his composure. A break in the action because of an accidental eye poke to Matthews allowed Kato to completely recover, and when the fight continued, Kato utilized his right kick to the body-left hand to the dome combination to send Matthews to the canvas, pouncing with a flurry of punches forcing the referee to call a stop to the action at 4:58 of the first frame.

 

 

Complete Bellator.com-Streamed Preliminary Card:

 

Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Steve Garcia (7-1) def. Ronnie Lawrence (1-1) via UD

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Ricky Rainey (12-4) def. Gilbert Smith (12-6) via UD

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Julia Budd (9-2) def. Arlene Blencowe (7-6) via MD

Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Virgil Zwicker (15-5-1) def. Dan Charles (10-4-1) via TKO at 4:31of Round 2

Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Chase Gormley (14-5, 1 NC) def. Bobby Brents (17-6) via SD

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Wade Johnson (11-1) def. Tyler Hill (6-1) via SUB (rear-naked choke) at 3:35 of Round 3

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: James Wallace (2-0) def. Jonathan Burdine (4-5) via SUB (rear-naked choke) at 3:33 of Round 2

Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Eryk Anders (5-0) def. Brian White (5-5) via TKO at 0:23 of Round 1

Catchweight (160 lb.) Preliminary Bout: Jaleel Willis (7-0) vs. Omar Johnson (4-1) via UD

Light Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Grady Hurley (10-1) def. Chad Cook (10-11) at 2:29 of Round1

Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Mike Wessell (15-8) vs. Frank Tate (4-2) via UD

 

GOITI YAMAUCHI-RYAN COUTURE SQUARE OFF IN LIGHTWEIGHT MAIN CARD BOUT – RICKY RAINEY VS. GILBERT SMITH CONFIRMED FOR PRELIMINARY CARD

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. (September 16, 2016) – A middleweight pairing pitting Hisaki Kato (6-2) against A.J. Matthews (8-5) has been added to the main card of “Bellator 162: Shlemenko vs. Grove” at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on October 21.

In addition, a lightweight faceoff pitting  Goiti Yamauchi (19-3) against Ryan Couture (10-4) completes the SPIKE-televised main card. The first of what will be a stacked preliminary card is also official, with the news that Ricky “The Sniper” Rainey (11-4) will fight Gilbert “Chocolate Thunder” Smith (12-5). Additional undercard bouts will be announced shortly.

Tickets for the event are on sale now at Bellator.com, Ticketmaster or FedExForum Box Office. Main card action kicks off LIVE and FREE on SPIKE at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while prelims streams live on Bellator.com and The Bellator Mobile App.

Since signing with Bellator MMA, the calm and subdued Kato has been in nothing but absolute barn burners once the cage door shuts. The exciting fights have even transcended combat sport iterations, when at “Bellator MMA: Dynamite 2” Kato delivered a spinning back fist that stopped Joe Schilling in his tracks, the second finish in as many tries for “The Japanese Musketeer” against “Stitch Em’ Up.” Currently situated in France, the 33-year-old has had one MMA contest thus far in 2016, stopping Yuta Watanabe in April.

When he’s not traveling the world in an effort to learn everything there is to know about the different martial arts disciplines, Matthews is putting his skills to the test under the Bellator MMA umbrella. A veteran of Strikeforce, “The Mercenary” has laced up the gloves seven times previously for the Viacom-owned promotion, stopping his opponent in all but one of his victories. Primarily training at Alliance MMA throughout his career, Matthews has spent much of his time as of late in Thailand, even taking a Muay Thai bout before meeting Ben Reiter at “Bellator 156: Galvao vs. Dantas 2.”

At just 23-years-old, Yamauchi is one of the premiere young talents in the sport of MMA today. Prior to joining Bellator MMA, the Japanese submission specialist amassed an unfathomable 14-1 record with 11 submissions and one knockout. Since merging with the Scott Coker-led promotion, Yamauchi has strung together a promising mark of 5-2 with three rear-naked choke submissions. Of his 19 career wins, 15 have come by way of submission, while no opponent has yet been able to finish the elusive fighter. Yamauchi will now jump up in weight class and join the lightweight division for a clash with one of the most legendary last names in MMA, Couture.

Known to many as the son of former world champion Randy Couture, Ryan has made 14 professional appearances over his career, all of which took place under the bright lights of a national promotion like Strikeforce or Bellator MMA. Residing in Las Vegas, the 34-year-old submission specialist enters the cage having won four of his past five contests, with each of his victories coming by way of rear-naked choke submission. Although there is a noticeable age difference between his opponent, Yamauchi made his professional debut a mere two months after Couture, in October of 2010. Tune in to SPIKE on October 21 to see which Bellator MMA lightweight powerhouse will emerge victorious.

 

Complete “Bellator 162: Shlemenko vs. Grove” Main Card:

Middleweight Main Event: Alexander Shlemenko (53-9) vs. Kendall Grove (23-15)

Heavyweight Co-Main Event: Bobby Lashley (14-2) vs. Josh Appelt (12-5)

Middleweight Feature Bout: Hisaki Kato (6-2) vs. A.J. Matthews (8-5)

Lightweight Feature Bout: Goiti Yamauchi (19-3) vs. Ryan Couture (10-4)

 

Preliminary Card:

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Ricky Rainey (11-4) vs. Gilbert Smith (12-5)