Plus the highly-anticipated MMA debut of Muay Thai champion Cosmo Alexander
Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (September 21, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships makes its return to Louisiana on Saturday, October 1st as the promotion hosts Bellator 52 from L’Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles. The action begins at 7 p.m. ET with a stacked undercard streaming LIVE on Spike.com. The televised portion of the event will feature the quarterfinals of Bellator’s Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament and will begin at 9 p.m. ET LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX.
Lightweight sensation Cosmo “Good Boy” Alexander will make his MMA debut against Lake Charles native Josh Quayhagen, who will also be making his professional debut. Alexander enters Bellator with an incredible resume in Muay Thai, as the 29-year-old striker has over 50 professional kickboxing fights under his belt, along with several of the sport’s most notable championship titles. The Miami resident is one of the most highly-coveted prospects in all of MMA and looks to put on a show for Bellator fans. To see video of Cosmo’s devastating striking in competition, please click HERE.
Bellator featherweights collide as Genair da Silva takes on Bellator veteran Bryan Goldsby. For Silva, the Brazilian striker is looking to get back into the win column after suffering a close split-decision loss at the hands of fellow Brazilian Marlon Sandro in Bellator’s Summer Series Featherweight Tournament.
Undefeated light-heavyweight Matt Van Buren joins Bellator looking for victory over Alexandria, La. resident Nick Nichols. At 25 years old, the Virginia based Van Buren will look to impress Bellator brass with a dominating win.
There are also two intriguing heavyweight fights on the ledger as Josh Burns battles former The Ultimate Fighter competitor Zak Jensen, and Liron Wilson takes on the undefeated Justin Frazier, who will put his 4-0 record on the line.
The Season 5 heavyweight tournament will feature an eight-man field that boasts a dominating 73-15-2 record along with 41 combined knockouts. Undefeated Ron Sparks takes on Oklahoma native Mark Holata, Season 3 finalist Neil Grove faces 15-win veteran Mike “300” Hayes; and in other quarterfinal action, Thiago “Big Monster” Santos looks to be the first man to put a blemish on Blagoi Ivanov’s 4-0 record and Army veteran Eric Prindle will test Abe Wagner, the man who beat former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in the first round earlier this year.
“L’Auberge Du Lac has been an incredible venue partner for us, and we should have a great night of fights on October 1st LIVE on MTV2 and EPIX, as well as on Spike.com,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “There are some first-time Bellator fighters on this card that I can’t wait to watch and see what they can do in the cage.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional 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, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About MTV2
MTV2 is a man’s best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
About EPIX
EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a next-generation premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service launched on October 30, 2009. With access to more than 15,000 motion pictures spanning the vast libraries of its partners and other studios, EPIX provides a powerful entertainment experience with more feature films on demand and online and more HD movies than any other service. It is the only premium service providing its entire monthly line-up of new Hollywood titles, classic feature films, original series, music and comedy specials through the linear channel, video-on-demand and online at EpixHD.com, the leading online destination for movies.
EPIX has made the commitment to deliver the industry’s most expansive online collection of movies, making more than 3,000 titles available on EpixHD.com. The service is available to over 30 million homes nationwide through distribution partners including Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.