CHICAGO, Ill. (September 3, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships today finalized the official main card fights for Bellator 28, which is taking place at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre in New Orleans on Sep. 9th, marking the promotion’s first trip to the city.
Headlining the card will be a lightweight battle between Season 2 Lightweight semifinalist Carey Vanier (9-3) and explosive UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi (37-16-1).
Vanier TKO’d his way into the semi-finals in Season 2, but fell to submission specialist Toby Imada at Bellator 17. Vanier will be hungry for a win at Bellator 29, which marks his first fight back since the loss to Imada.
An eight year Navy veteran and eleven year, 54-fight MMA veteran, Clementi comes to Bellator Fighting Championships after spending the last decade fighting some of the toughest opponents MMA has to offer. Well known for stopping his opponents early, 20 of No Love’s 36 victories have come via submission with another nine being finished via KO or TKO.
Also on the card, will be a closely contested match-up between two powerful middleweights when Bellator Season 2 semifinalist Eric Schambari (12-2) takes on battle-tested UFC veteran Matt Horwich (25-15-1).
In featherweight action, hard-hitting Season 2 semifinalist Georgi “Insane” Karakhanyan (13-2-1) collides with dangerous WEC veteran Anthony Leone (8-1).
Karakhayan is understandably eager for a victory after dropping a unanimous decision to eventual Season 2 Featherweight Champion Joe Warren at Bellator 18.
The Fox Sports Net event will also feature an exciting lightweight fight between fast-rising NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Eric Larkin and up-and-coming Louisiana native Marcus Andrusia.
“We’re happy to be headed o New Orleans,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This event has some great fights scheduled and it should make for a great night of fights for New Orleans fans.”
Tickets for the event – which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights – are on sale now at ticketmaster.com
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships:
ellator 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.