Press Release – Newport Beach, CA. (February 20. 2013) – All eyes will be on Bellator March 21st as the Lightweight and Welterweight Tournaments are decided as submission ace and Polish phenom Marcin Held takes on Dave Jansen in the long awaited $100,000 Lightweight Tournament Final, while the final two Season 8 Welterweight participants square off for their guaranteed title shot, live on Spike TV.
Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at TheColisee.com, the Androscoggin Bank Colisee Box Office or by phone by dialing 207-783-2009. Tickets range from $40-$125. The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 10 p.m. EST on Spike, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Only 20 and holding an impressive 15-2 record, polish phenom Marcin Held stormed through the opening rounds of the lightweight tournament, collecting explosive victories over Murad Machaev and longtime MMA veteran Rich Clementi. Known across the MMA landscape as one of the top submission artists in the sport, Held is a victory away from capturing his first Bellator Tournament crown and a guaranteed title shot.
For Jansen, the charismatic lightweight enters the Bellator Finals riding a five fight win streak and is fully prepared for the test that awaits him on March 21st, in what undoubtedly be the biggest fight of his career.
“I’ve had a lot of time to work on my game plan and really focus on this fight on March 21st,” Jansen said. “Marcin has the total package when it comes to submissions, so I know what I need to focus on to win this fight, and get a shot at the Bellator title.”
The night will also feature a collection of heavyweights, as Brett “Da Grim” Rogers returns to the Bellator cage to take on Eric Prindle. After suffering a broken arm in his fight with eventual Bellator Heavyweight Champion Alexander Volkov, Rogers is ready for a shot at redemption on March 21st.
“I am looking forward to getting back in the Bellator cage and a chance to fight on Spike TV,” Rogers said. “In my last fight I broke my forearm but I am fully recovered, training at American Top Team and this time the only thing breaking will be my opponent. Now that I am at ATT I am a new and smarter fighter.”
Longtime veteran Travis Wiuff also returns, this time at heavyweight to battle Colorado native Ryan Martinez. Previously fighting at heavyweight, Wiuff is now at his more natural weight, and looking to continue his illustrious career that has seen him compile an astonishing 68-16 record.
The preliminaries will be headlined by Maine native and fan favorite Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis taking on Waachiim Spiritwolf in a welterweight affair. Davis has found a home in Bellator, and looking to put on a show against Spiritwolf in his promotional debut.
“Having the chance to fight for a promotion like Bellator in front of my friends, family and fans is a dream come true,” Davis said. “It’s great to find a new home and fight for one of the biggest promotions in the world.”
The full card for Bellator MMA from Lewiston, Maine can be found below:
MAIN CARD:
Lightweight Tournament Finals Fight: Dave Jansen vs. Marcin Held
Welterweight Tournament Finals Fight: TBD vs. TBD
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Ryan Martinez vs. Travis Wiuff
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Brett Rogers vs. Eric Prindle
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Welterweight Feature Fight: Waachiim Spiritwolf vs. Marcus Davis
Featherweight Feature Fight: Vince Murdock vs. John Raio
Welterweight Feature Fight: Ryan Sanders vs. Michael Page
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Brent Dillingham vs. Mike Mucitelli
Middleweight Feature Fight: Luc Bondole vs. Joe Pacheco
Middleweight Feature Fight: Jason Butcher vs. Jack Hermansson
Middleweight Feature Fight: Dave Vitkay vs. Jesse Peterson
Lightweight Feature Fight: Jesse Erickson vs. Jon Lemke
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/BellatorMMA
About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes worldwide in over 107 countries, Bellator’s majority owner is entertainment giant Viacom. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. With over 150 world-class athletes under contract, Bellator is home to many of the sport’s top mixed martial artists. Bellator’s founder & CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment executive with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator’s core philosophy is that title shots should be earned, not given. This belief gave rise to Bellator’s real sport, tournament-based format, which gives Bellator’s tournaments a true playoff feel that keeps the sport true and distances itself from the subjective side of fighting sports found in organizations that utilize a matchmaking/casting formula. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Newport Beach, California.
About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.
About mun2
mun2 is the leading Hispanic cable network for young millennial adults 18-34. From reality to music, on-air to digital, mun2 creates original content that resonates across a multi-screen platform. Young, vibrant and unabashedly Latino, mun2 has a distribution to over 38 million households. The network is part of Telemundo Media, a division of NBCUniversal.