Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (March 20, 2012) – Bellator Fighting Championships returns to Texas for the first time since the promotion’s third season as Bellator 62 kicks off from the Laredo Energy Arena on March 23. The night features the long-awaited rematch between “The American Soldier” Eric Prindle and Thiago “Big Monster” Santos to determine a winner from last season’s heavyweight tournament, as well as the quarterfinals of Bellator’s $100,000 Season 6 Lightweight Tournament and a host of Texas’ top MMA talent.
Tickets for the event are now on sale and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting The Laredo Energy Arena Box Office. Tickets are priced from $22-$120. The event will also be broadcast LIVE starting at 7 p.m. CST on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. CST, with the first fight scheduled for 6 p.m. CST. The preliminary card, featuring the area’s top talent will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. CST.
Laredo favorite Sonny Luque is back after being away from the cage for over a year. He’ll meet Brownsville native Luis Vega, who enters the fight with an impressive 7-2 record and brings a six fight win streak into the cage.
The always inspirational Rad Martinez is back with Bellator and will be in a featherweight battle with Amarillo native Douglas Frey. A dedicated family man, many MMA observers are familiar with Martinez after his incredible journey was documented on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”
Cosmo “Good Boy” Alexander looks to continue his ascent up the MMA ranks with a victory in Laredo. Alexander is known for his world class kickboxing, and will put his skills on display against El Paso native Oscar de la Parra in a lightweight affair.
Welterweights collide as Joseph Daily is set to battle Dallas native Sean “Black Magik” Spencer. Both 170 pounders have been climbing up the welterweight rankings, and will be looking to keep their momentum intact.
McKinney native Steven Peterson is ready for action as he steps into the Bellator cage against Dallas resident Chris Jones. Both impressive featherweights hold identical 6-1 records.
Two familiar faces return as lightweights Jacob Kirwan and Dave Jansen do battle. Kirwin is coming off an impressive victory at Bellator 54, while Jansen is 2-0 in his Bellator career, including a dominating submission victory at Bellator 57 over Ashkan Morvari.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator 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, Latin for Warrior, is partnered with entertainment industry leaders Viacom and Fremantle Entertainment, and is the world’s leading tournament-based mixed martial arts organization. Bellator’s Founder, Chairman & 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
Available in approximately 80 million homes MTV2 is man’s best friend. Since its launch in 1996, the network has reflected the subversive interests and behaviors of young men with a compelling and diverse programming line-up inspired by ordinary guys who do extraordinary things. MTV2 is part of Viacom Media Networks, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. For more information, go to www.mtvpress.com or follow us on Twitter @MTVPress.
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,