Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (April 2, 2012) — As Bellator Fighting Championships makes its long awaited return to Canada, it brings with it a stacked fight card headlined by a Bellator Welterweight Title Fight between World Champion Ben Askren and Season 5 Tournament Winner Douglas Lima, a Season 6 Featherweight Tournament semifinal featuring dangerous Brazilian Marlon Sandro and Alexandre “Popo” Bezerra and the first two fights in the Season 6 Bantamweight Tournament. The night will also feature a loaded preliminary card filled with some of the best talent across Canada. Tickets for the event are on sale and are available through Ticketmaster.com or at the Caesars Windsor Box Office. Tickets are priced from $30-$125 Canadian.
The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 8 p.m. EST on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. EST, with the first fight scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The preliminary card, featuring the area’s top local talent will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com starting at 7 p.m. EST.
The night will feature the return of Bellator veteran and London, Ontario native Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki as he battles Minnesota’s Mike “The Marine” Richman in a lightweight fight. Horodecki brings with him an impressive 18-3-1 record while the 11-1 Richman is looking to impress the Bellator brass in his debut with the promotion.
Top welterweight prospect Nordine Taleb looks to add to his current five-fight win streak when he faces off against undefeated Matt Secor in a middleweight contest that is sure to please the Canadian crowd. Taleb, who will be making his Bellator debut, will be fighting for the first time since stopping UFC veteran Pete Sell back in November of last year while Secor will be looking to make a name for himself in enemy territory.
Elias Theodorou steps into the Bellator cage for the first time as he battles Michigan native Rich Lictawa in middleweight action; and a pair of local feature fights will also be on the card as Windsor natives Kyle Prepolec and Lance Snow will square off in a catchweight bout while Josh Taverine will take on undefeated Chad Laprise in a welterweight contest.
The card will be rounded out as local fighter Taylor Solomon takes on Jason Fischer in lightweight action. Fischer, who has yet to go to a decision, will look to keep his undefeated record intact when he enters the Bellator cage in Windsor, while Solomon looks to ride the momentum of his 70-second KO victory against Mike Sledzion in November.
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, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.