Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. – Before Bellator Fighting Championships kicks off its talent-laden fifth season this Saturday at 9 p.m. EST, MTV2 and Spike.com are airing a Season 5 preview special that gives an in-depth look at the promotion’s upcoming welterweight, middleweight, bantamweight and heavyweight tournaments and uncovers the stories behind these world-class athletes competing for their shot at the title.
The preview special is scheduled to air three times on MTV2 before Saturday’s season opener from Caesars in Atlantic City, N.J.:
Wednesday, September 07- 2:30 p.m. EST on MTV2
Friday, September 09- 2:30 a.m. EST on MTV2
Saturday, September 10- 8:30 p.m. EST on MTV2
The Season 5 preview show can also be viewed on Spike.com, which will also stream LIVE undercard fights throughout the 12-week season. The video can be seen here: http://bit.ly/r4BxMU
Bellator’s fifth season will feature tournaments in the welterweight, middleweight, bantamweight and heavyweight divisions, a number of championship fights and a host of special feature fights. The full list of tournament matchups can be found below.
Welterweights (Sept. 10 – Caesar’s / Atlantic City, N.J.)
Douglas Lima vs. Steve Carl
Dan Hornbuckle vs. Luis Santos
Ben Saunders vs. Chris Cisneros
Brent Weedman vs. Chris Lozano
Middleweights (Sept. 17 – Seminole Hard Rock / Hollywood, Fla)
Bryan Baker vs. Jared Hess
Alexander Shlemenko vs. Zelg Galesic
Vitor Vianna vs. Sam Alvey
Brian Rogers vs. Victor O’Donnell
Bantamweights (Sept. 24 – Canton Civic Center / Canton, Ohio)
Joe Warren vs. Alexis Vila
Eduardo Dantas vs. Wilson Reis
Ed West vs. Luiz Nogueira
Marcos Galvao vs. Chase Beebe
Heavyweights (Oct. 1 – L’Auberge du Lac / Lake Charles, La.)
Mark Holata vs. Ron Sparks
Neil Grove vs. Mike Hayes
Blagoi Ivanov vs. Thiago Santos
Eric Prindle vs. Abe Wagner
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.