Bellator 162: “Shlemenko vs. Grove” takes place Oct. 21, 2016 at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn. Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko returns for his first U.S. fight in over a year since being suspended for failing his Bellator 133 drug test. He faces a resurgent Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove, winner of two straight by knockout.
The FedEx Forum card also features a huge Heavyweight match between winner of seven straight Bobby Lashley against returning Bellator fighter and West Coast Fighting champion Josh Appelt. An eighth straight win almost guarantees he’ll meet Cheick Kongo for the vacant title.
Two additional fights have just been announced for the main card which should draw fight fans more than 10 feet off Beale Street, as the son of a MMA legend and an explosive striker both have key proving fights that night.
Hisaki Kato (6-2) loves to live and die by the sword. Every one of his eight MMA fights has either been won or lost by knockout, including his famous Superman punch that sent Joe Schilling right out of his socks.
Fellow Bellator and Rizin veteran A.J. Matthews (8-5) would love to relish the opportunity to bang with Kato. Six of his eight wins come the same way, including two of his last three fights in Bellator.
They will be joined by Ryan Couture (10-4) as he looks to rebound from a knockout loss to Patricky Freire in January, while Goiti Yamauchi (19-3) is also on the comeback trail after his three win streak was snapped by Bubba Jenkins.
The updated Bellator 162 card is below.
Bellator 162 “Shlemenko vs. Grove” Main Card (Spike TV):
Middleweight: Alexander Shlemenko (53-9) vs. Kendall Grove (23-15)
Heavyweight: Bobby Lashley (14-2) vs. Josh Appelt (12-5)
Middleweight: Hisaki Kato (6-2) vs. A.J. Matthews (8-5)
Lightweight: Goiti Yamauchi (19-3) vs. Ryan Couture (10-4)Bellator 162 “Prelims” Card (Spike.com):
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Ricky Rainey (11-4) vs. Gilbert Smith (12-5)
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