Los Angeles, Calif. – March 6, 2009 – Bellator Fighting Championships, announced today that Bellator II (the second event of the highly anticipated 12-week tournament series airing on ESPN Deportes) will be hosted by Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut on April 10, 2009. The second nationally and internationally-televised event hosted by Mohegan Sun will occur Friday, June 12, 2009 and will feature a Bellator World Championship bout.
“We are very pleased to bring world-class mixed martial arts events to Mohegan Sun’s spectacular venue,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The team at Mohegan Sun has a wealth of experience and expertise in hosting some of the world’s top fighting sports events and we look forward to building on that great legacy with them.”
Bellator II on Friday April 10, 2009 will feature a collection of highly-competitive, evenly matched tournament bouts in the Featherweight (145 lbs.), Lightweight (155 lbs.) and Welterweight (170 lbs.) divisions, as well as a strong undercard including several featured non-tournament bouts. Tickets can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets, and go on sale Friday, March 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm EST through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com, call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000, or visit any Ticketmaster outlet. The fight card is detailed below:
Tournament Bouts:
145 lbs. – Wilson Reis (6-0) vs. Henry Martinez (5-1)
155 lbs. – Thomas Schulte (18-6) vs. Ivan Iberico (7-1/27-1)
170 lbs. – Lyman Good (7-0) vs. Hector Urbina (12-4)
170 lbs. – Jorge Ortiz (15-4) vs. Aaron Romero (5-2)
170 lbs. – Dave Menne (42-15) vs. Norman Paraisy (5-0)
170 lbs. – Omar De La Cruz (3-1) vs. Victor Meza (9-0)
Bob Yalen, Mohegan Sun’s Director of Sports & Entertainment said, “Bjorn and company have a history of producing high quality, competitive boxing events, and we have no reason not to expect the same as they embark into the world of mixed martial arts; Mohegan Sun is excited to be hosting the Bellator mixed martial arts fighting championships here.”
Headlining Bellator’s Featherweight tournament on this stacked card is undefeated former EliteXC champion Wilson Reis and Albequerque’s fastest rising star, the once-beaten Henry Martinez. The match-up is a battle of ground fighting aces, pitting Reis’ multiple Jiu-Jitsu World Championship skills against Martinez’s action-filled ground and pound game. Both are rising Featherweights on the world stage looking to establish their name amongst the world’s best. Reis is from Brazil , currently fighting out of Philadelphia , while Martinez fights out of famed Greg Jackson’s Fighting Academy in Albuquerque , NM.
Also looking to establish his name on the world stage is undefeated Welterweight Lyman Good, who will face heavy handed knockout artist Hector Urbina. Both fighters are dropping from Middleweight to Welterweight for this championship tournament and both are established banging stand up fighters; non-stop action is expected from this match-up. Lyman good fights out of Queens , NY , by way of Puerto Rico and Hector Urbina fights out of Indiana.
April 10th will also witness the return to the world stage for former UFC Champion Dave Menne against France ’s greatest Welterweight MMA fighter, the undefeated Norman Paraisy. Also featured in tournament competition will be a great clash between Mexico ’s top Welterweight Jorge Ortiz, and Denver ’s promising Welterweight Aaron Romero.
The Lightweight division will feature a compelling match-up between submission ace and multiple world champion Thomas Schulte and the greatest MMA fighter in Peruvian history, Ivan Iberico. Schulte is an expert on the ground with all 18 wins coming via submission, and Iberico is the Peruvian national wrestling Champion who has a 7 win 1 loss record on the U.S. books, but who has established a spectacular 27 win 1 loss record including MMA fights in his native Peru.
Bellator Fighting Championships’ premiere season consists of 12 two-hour events to be broadcast weekly in primetime on Saturday nights. The nationally televised events will feature a combination of tournament and non-tournament special feature bouts. There will be four simultaneous tournaments taking place in season #1 over a three month period: one in each of the Featherweight (145 lb.), Lightweight (155 lb.), Welterweight (170 lb.) and Middleweight (185 lb.) divisions.
For more information about Bellator Fighting Championships, visit www.bellator.com. A Spanish version of the website, www.Espanol.Bellator.com, will be launching in March 2009.