Konan
01-01-2013, 02:00 PM
Bellator has set competitors and matchups for the opening round of its Season 8 light heavyweight tournament, which kicks off with promotion's move to Spike TV at Bellator 85.
Bellator on Monday announced the pairings, which include Seth Petruzelli (14-6 MMA, 1-0 BFC) vs. Jacob Noe (8-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC), Renato Sobral (37-9 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Mikhail Zayats (19-6 MMA, 0-0 BFC), and Emanuel Newton (18-7 MMA, 1-1 BFC) vs. Atanas Djambazov (17-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC).
Muhammed Lawal (8-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala (16-7 MMA, 0-0 BFC) takes place the following week at Bellator 86.
Bellator 85 is slated for Jan. 17 at Bren Center in Irvine, Calif. The event's main card airs live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.
Petruzelli returns to Bellator following an impressive first-round KO of former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez at Bellator 48 in August 2011. The win was his second since his release from the UFC, which came after back-to-back losses to Ricardo Romero and Karlos Vemola.
Noe makes his tournament debut after a first-round TKO of Brian Albin at Bellator 73, which marked his promotion debut. Prior to that, the Tennessee-based fighter earned a five-fight win streak on the regional circuit.
Sobral most recently competed in the upstart OneFC promotion, where he submitted Tatsuya Mizuno by first-round armbar at an event in June. That appearance came after a two-year layoff following a first-round KO loss to Dan Henderson under the Strikeforce banner. The onetime UFC light heavyweight contender is 6-2 since his release from the industry-leading promotion, which came after he refused to release a choke hold in a fight against David Heath at UFC 74.
Zayats makes his promotional and tournament debut on the strength of a five-fight win streak earned on the international circuit. A former M-1 Challenge winner, he went on a tear after unsuccessfully vying for the Russian promotion's light heavyweight belt in a bout against now-UFC fighter Vinny Magalhaes.
Lawal makes his long-awaited promotional debut after spending a year on the bench as the result of a failed drug test (Drostanolone) at a Strikeforce event in December 2011. Although he denied using performance-enhancers, he was suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the event, and a second-round TKO was changed to a no-contest. In the Strikeforce cage, Lawal went 3-1 for the promotion, and in April 2010 beat Gegard Mousasi for the light heavyweight belt before losing it to Rafael Cavalcante in his next fight.
Mysiala comes into the tourney looking to rebound from a loss in March, which came via first-round TKO in a fight against Jason Jones at BAMMA 9. The Polish veteran, who trains out of London Shootfighters, is 5-2 in the past three years of his pro career.
Newton returns to Bellator after falling short to Summer Series winner Atilla Veigh in the semifinals of the tournament. The loss snapped a six-fight win streak in notable regional promotions such as Maximum Fighting Championship, Shark Fights and Superior Cage Combat before joining Bellator.
Djambazov brings the most impressive ledger to the competition, at least on paper. The Bulgarian has won his past 10 fights and has only two setbacks in 19 pro outings. One is to WEC vet Chuck Grigsby, making the Bellator tourney his biggest step up in competition.
The latest Bellator 85 card now includes:
Champ Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn - for lightweight title
Champ Pat Curran vs. Patricio Freire - for featherweight title
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mikhail Zayats - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Jacob Noe vs. Seth Petruzelli - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Atanas Djambazov vs. Emanuel Newton - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Mike Guymon vs. TBA
Jason Lambert vs. TBA
Hector Ramirez vs. TBA
Bellator on Monday announced the pairings, which include Seth Petruzelli (14-6 MMA, 1-0 BFC) vs. Jacob Noe (8-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC), Renato Sobral (37-9 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Mikhail Zayats (19-6 MMA, 0-0 BFC), and Emanuel Newton (18-7 MMA, 1-1 BFC) vs. Atanas Djambazov (17-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC).
Muhammed Lawal (8-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala (16-7 MMA, 0-0 BFC) takes place the following week at Bellator 86.
Bellator 85 is slated for Jan. 17 at Bren Center in Irvine, Calif. The event's main card airs live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.
Petruzelli returns to Bellator following an impressive first-round KO of former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez at Bellator 48 in August 2011. The win was his second since his release from the UFC, which came after back-to-back losses to Ricardo Romero and Karlos Vemola.
Noe makes his tournament debut after a first-round TKO of Brian Albin at Bellator 73, which marked his promotion debut. Prior to that, the Tennessee-based fighter earned a five-fight win streak on the regional circuit.
Sobral most recently competed in the upstart OneFC promotion, where he submitted Tatsuya Mizuno by first-round armbar at an event in June. That appearance came after a two-year layoff following a first-round KO loss to Dan Henderson under the Strikeforce banner. The onetime UFC light heavyweight contender is 6-2 since his release from the industry-leading promotion, which came after he refused to release a choke hold in a fight against David Heath at UFC 74.
Zayats makes his promotional and tournament debut on the strength of a five-fight win streak earned on the international circuit. A former M-1 Challenge winner, he went on a tear after unsuccessfully vying for the Russian promotion's light heavyweight belt in a bout against now-UFC fighter Vinny Magalhaes.
Lawal makes his long-awaited promotional debut after spending a year on the bench as the result of a failed drug test (Drostanolone) at a Strikeforce event in December 2011. Although he denied using performance-enhancers, he was suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which oversaw the event, and a second-round TKO was changed to a no-contest. In the Strikeforce cage, Lawal went 3-1 for the promotion, and in April 2010 beat Gegard Mousasi for the light heavyweight belt before losing it to Rafael Cavalcante in his next fight.
Mysiala comes into the tourney looking to rebound from a loss in March, which came via first-round TKO in a fight against Jason Jones at BAMMA 9. The Polish veteran, who trains out of London Shootfighters, is 5-2 in the past three years of his pro career.
Newton returns to Bellator after falling short to Summer Series winner Atilla Veigh in the semifinals of the tournament. The loss snapped a six-fight win streak in notable regional promotions such as Maximum Fighting Championship, Shark Fights and Superior Cage Combat before joining Bellator.
Djambazov brings the most impressive ledger to the competition, at least on paper. The Bulgarian has won his past 10 fights and has only two setbacks in 19 pro outings. One is to WEC vet Chuck Grigsby, making the Bellator tourney his biggest step up in competition.
The latest Bellator 85 card now includes:
Champ Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn - for lightweight title
Champ Pat Curran vs. Patricio Freire - for featherweight title
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mikhail Zayats - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Jacob Noe vs. Seth Petruzelli - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Atanas Djambazov vs. Emanuel Newton - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Mike Guymon vs. TBA
Jason Lambert vs. TBA
Hector Ramirez vs. TBA