A non-title ‘Super-Fight’ had been scheduled between Bellator heavyweight champ Cole “The Polar Bear” Konrad (7-0) and former UFC vet Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (29-13) for this weekends Bellator 42 event, but a back injury to Buentello has forced Bellator Fighting Championships to rebook the fight for a later date.
MMAjunkie.com confirmed Buentello’s injury on Tuesday morning and noted that featherweights Ronnie Mann (18-2-1) vs. Josh Arocho (13-9) would replace the heavyweight bout on the live MTV2 broadcast.
Bellator 42 is set to take place at the Lucky Star Casino in Concho, Oklahoma and will feature two light-heavyweight semi-final bouts of Bellator’s season four tournament. Those bouts will take place on the four fight main card during the live MTV2 broadcast, which begins at 9PM EST (6PM PST) Saturday, April 23.
Buentello had been scheduled to make his Bellator debut against Konrad but will now have to wait till he’s recovered to fight on MTV2. Since his dismissal from the UFC after losing two straight, “The Headhunter” has gone 2-1 over the past year. He headlined the Shark Fights 11 event in May, earning a unanimous decision over opponent Bryan Humes, and was then stopped by former UFC champ Tim Sylvia who knocked Buentello out for the PWP heavyweight title in August. Buentello’s last fight was in December at the disastrous Nemesis Fighting event in the Dominican Republic, he earned a unanimous decision over Kerry Schall.
Konrad a former NCAA Division I Collegiate wrestling champ, has won five straight under the Bellator banner, including winning the inaugural heavyweight title last October. He submitted Neil Grove in October of last year at the Season 3 heavyweight tournament final to win his first championship. He earned unanimous decisions over Damian Grabowski at Bellator 29, and Rogent Lloret at Bellator 25, to progress into the finals of the tournament.