Los Angeles, Calif. – March 24, 2009 – Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that Bellator III (the third event of the highly anticipated 12-week tournament series airing on ESPN Deportes) will take place at the University of Oklahoma at Norman on April 17, 2009. The event will be held in the Lloyd Noble Center , home of the world renowned Oklahoma Sooners.
“The fights on this card should make for a spectacular night. Our tournament match-ups on this show are pick-em fights, so the entire event should be explosive from start to finish,” said Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The Lloyd Noble Center is a state of the art facility where our large scale ESPN Deportes production will look and sound great. Die-hard Oklahoma MMA fans, world-class fights and a spectacular venue should make for a great night of fights.”
Bellator III on Friday April 17, 2009 will feature a collection of highly-competitive, action-packed tournament bouts in the Middleweight (185 lbs.) division, as well as a collection of special feature bouts, including a women’s fight featuring Kerry Vera, wife of Brandon Vera. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday March 24th at 12:00 pm CST and can be purchased at the Lloyd Nobel Center box office and through Ticketmaster. Ticket prices start at $20.00 for students with student identification and go up to $100.00 for cage-side seating. The tournament fights on the events card are detailed below:
Tournament Bouts:
185 lbs. – Jared Hess (6-0-1) vs. Daniel Tabera (12-1-3)
185 lbs. – Alex Andrade (8-4) vs. Damien Stelly (8-2)
185 lbs. – Virgil Lozano (6-1) vs. Hector Lombard (18-2)
170 lbs. – Dave Menne (42-15-2) vs. Norman Paraisy (5-0)
185 lbs. – Edwin Aguilar (20-12) vs. Yosmany Cabezas (7-1)
Non-Tournament Bouts:
120 lbs. Kerry Vera (0-0) vs. Brandi Hainey (1-0)
170 lbs. Troy Kious (1-0) vs. Lewis Washington (3-0)
205 lbs. Mike Messina (2-1) vs. William Albrecht (5-6)
145 lbs. Eric Payne (17-7) vs. Johnny Eduardo (20-8)
170 lbs. Joey Gorczynski (0-0) vs. Marcelo Alfaia (9-5)
185 lbs. Jason Norwood (5-1) vs. Ariel Gandulla (5-2)
Headlining Bellator III will be a matchup between Oklahoma hometown favorite Jared Hess and Spain ’s greatest Middleweight MMA fighter Daniel Tabera. Hess is a multiple-time Oklahoma state wrestling Champion who’s established his name on the worldwide MMA stage with heavy hands and an eagerness to strike. Tabera has been called the best Middleweight to come out of Spain and was the first Spanish fighter ever to win a fight on U.S. soil. Tabera will use a well-developed arsenal of strikes and solid ground game to try to spoil Hess’ nationally televised tournament debut and knock the hometown favorite out of the $175,000 Middleweight tournament.
Another spectacular Middleweight tournament match-up pits Alex Andrade, U.S. Kickboxing Champion and World Pancration Super Fight Champion, against Damien “The Omen” Stelly, All-American Wrestler and World Sambo Champion, who is a sure contender for fight of the night. Both fighters have tremendous records in world-class competition and have proven themselves against the world’s best; this fight promises to be an exciting display of striking and a tough battle until the end.
The bout between Cage of Fire Champion Virgil Lozano and former Cuban Judo Olympian Hector Lombard is an intriguing match-up of ground fighting specialists. Lombard represents a step up in competition for Lozano, the Champion jiu-jitsu specialist, who has lost only once in his professional career. Lozano will be faced with taking on Lombard who is considered one of the top up and coming Middleweights in the world and who has a streak of 12 fights without a loss on the line. This fight also represents the U.S. national television debut of Lombard, who has fought regularly in Japan .
April 17th 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.
Finally, the Middleweight division match-up between knockout artists Edwin Aguilar and Yosmany Cabezas is expected to be a powerful fight. Aguilar is one of the most experienced fighters in the division and is recognized by many as Mexico ’s top Middleweight. He is a former K1 fighter and North American Muay Thai Champion who has developed a solid ground game. Cabezas is also known for his ground game; however, it is his arsenal of devastating kicks that have become his signature. Both fighters will undoubtedly be looking for the knockout, and both have the power and technique to get it.
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 tickets to the live event, please visit Ticketmaster.com beginning March 20, 2009.
For more information about Bellator Fighting Championships, visit www.bellator.com. The Spanish version of the website is available at www.Espanol.Bellator.com. Please contact your local cable provider to learn more about viewing Bellator Fighting Championships on ESPN Deportes.
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago . Bellator’s founders, Bjorn Rebney and Brad Epstein, are experienced fighting sports and entertainment professionals with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production (including Rob Beiner, winner of 12 Emmy awards for sports programming), fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About Lloyd Noble Center
The Lloyd Noble Center (LNC) is a multi-purpose facility that has served the University of Oklahoma and the surrounding community since December 1, 1975. Located in Norman , Oklahoma , the LNC has hosted many great sporting and non-sporting events in its 33 years of existence. The facility is home to the University of Oklahoma men’s and women’s basketball programs, and visiting artists have included Kenny Chesney, Bob Dylan, Olivia Newton-John, Johnny Cash, Three Doors Down and more.