Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (April 25, 2012) — Bellator Fighting Championships heads back to Canada, as the promotion returns to Casino Rama in Orilla, Ontario for Bellator 67. The night will feature Bellator Lightweight World Champion Michael Chandler squaring off against 32-win MMA veteran and Japanese sensation Akihiro Gono. Also, a Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Semifinal bout between Ben Saunders and Bryan Baker will take place in addition to the return of Polish Heavyweight sensation Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski and the Bellator debut of Canada’s own Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford. Kicking off the night will be a stacked undercard full of the area’s top talent. Tickets for the event are on sale and are available through Ticketmaster.com or at the Casino Rama Box Office. Tickets are priced from $25-$175.
The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 8 p.m. EST on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 6 p.m. EST, with the first fight scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST. The preliminary card, featuring some of the area’s top local talent will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com starting at 7 p.m. EST.
Rising welterweight prospect Nordine Taleb will enter the Bellator cage for the second time. Taleb, who is on a six-fight win streak, looks to pick up where he left off with a hard fought decision win over Matt Secor at Bellator 64.
A pair of Ontario natives will clash as Will Romero and Matt Veal meet in a featherweight contest in front of an electric Ontario crowd. Romero, a two-time Bellator veteran with 10 professional fights, meets Veal, an exciting competitor that has only gone to a decision once in 16 bouts.
Bellator 67 will feature the return of Brazilian Muay Thai champion kickboxer turned mixed martial artist Cosmo Alexander as he faces undefeated Lorwant-T Nelson in a lightweight matchup. “Good Boy” will be looking to build off the momentum of his first round knockout victory over Avery McPhatter at Bellator 58 when he steps in the Bellator cage against the 4-0 Nelson, who has stopped each of his opponents inside the allotted three rounds.
Also, Minnesota bantamweight fighter Nick “The Big Hurt” Kirk will look to keep his perfect record intact when he meets Detroit’s David “Bo” Harris in a bantamweight tilt. Harris, a winner of three of his past four fights, will try to score the biggest victory of his career against Kirk at Casino Rama.
The card will be rounded out as Ontario native Nathan Gunn will have the hometown support in the Bellator cage when he takes on fellow welterweight Dom O’Grady in a 170-pound affair. Both men are building impressive win streaks and will look to stay on the right path when they meet up at Bellator 67.
You can find the full Bellator 67 Fight Card on Bellator.com: http://www.bellator.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205409198&DB_OEM_ID=23600
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 Casino Rama
Operating since July 31, 1996, Casino Rama is Ontario’s only First Nations commercial casino. The Casino offers a complete entertainment experience with over 2,500 slot machines, more than 110 gaming tables, 10 unique restaurants, a world-class 5,000 seat Entertainment Centre, and a 300-room all-suite, full-service hotel, featuring spa and health club facilities. Casino Rama is operated by Penn National Gaming, Inc.
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.