Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (October 21, 2011) – As Bellator’s fifth season marches on, the promotion is preparing for a night of stars at Bellator 55 from Cocopah Resort and Casino on October 22 LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX2 starting at 9 p.m. ET. The night will host the semifinals of Bellator’s stacked bantamweight tournament, as well as host of feature fights full of Arizona’s finest MMA talent, which will stream LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com. The best fighters Yuma has to offer will be featured on the Spike.com stream, including former UFC fighter and Yuma product Edgar Garcia taking on Scottdale’s Jacob Ortiz and Yuma’s Carlos Flores taking on Submission of the Year award recipient and Tempe fighter Richard Hale in a light heavyweight battle.
Tickets for Saturday’s nationally-televised event start as low as $15 for General Admission and are $10 with a military I.D. To purchase tickets, visit the Cocopah box office or call (928) 726-8066.
“It’s going to be an honor to be the ‘it’ fighter in the ‘it’ city,” Flores proudly said. “This is a chance of a lifetime and I plan on putting on a great show for my people.”
Former Bellator Tournament Finalist Richard Hale will be looking to put on a show as well. While the Tempe native is fully focused on the task at hand, fighting in front of friends and family will certainly play a role for the heavy-handed Hale.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been able to fight back in Arizona, and to be doing it with Bellator, this is like a dream come true,” said Hale. “The last tournament didn’t end the way I wanted it to, so this next fight will hopefully start my journey on getting another title shot, and ultimately capturing the belt. I’m going to have a ton of support in my corner, so I couldn’t think of a better place to start than right in my backyard.”
With a wealth of local talent on the Spike.com portion of the card, Yuma fighter Edgar Garcia makes his Bellator debut in front of his home crowd. A 2002 high school state wrestling champion, Garcia is a seasoned veteran with UFC experience. The 27-year-old fighter looks to ignite the Arizona crowd and earn his first Bellator win when he takes on Scottdale’s Jacob Ortiz.
As longtime UFC veteran Efrain Escudero prepares for his lightweight battle with Cesar Avila, the Yuma native knows Bellator 55 won’t be just another fight.
“It’s always a great pleasure to fight in front of my hometown,” Escudero said. “I was raised about two miles away from Cocopah Casino, so it’s a great pleasure to be able to do what I love in my hometown. I just want to give back, and give the local fans that have supported me for so long a great show.”
With a stacked preliminary card, the night’s bantamweight tournament features even more Arizona talent as bantamweight semifinalist Ed West will be fighting for a spot in the tournament finals a few hours away from his hometown of Tucson.
“I get to compete in my back yard for the best promotion in the world, and I’m living my dream,” proclaimed West. “Being one of the top ranked fighters in Arizona for a while, I’ve developed a strong following, and I can’t wait to show my skills on such a big stage this Saturday.”
West will face rising prospect Eduardo Dantas, who punched his ticket to the semifinals with a highlight reel flying knee earlier this season. (Watch Here: http://bit.ly/qnC2Oo). Even with the excitement surrounding Dantas, West knows he will be ready to impress the Arizona faithful.
“I know there is a lot of hype behind Dantas, and a lot of people are picking him to win, but I have developed a great habit of leaving people disappointed, and that’s what I’m planning on doing with Dantas,” West said.
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.