Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (November 4, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships makes its return to Canada on Saturday, November 12th as the promotion hosts Bellator 57 from Casino Rama LIVE on MTV2, and in commercial-free HD on EPIX2 with two full hours of preliminary fights streamed live and in HD on Spike.com. In a night filled with high-stakes fights, Ben Saunders takes on Douglas Lima in the Welterweight Tournament Finals, while Alexander Shlemenko will battle Vitor Vianna for a $100,000 and a guaranteed title shot against current Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard. The action begins at 5 p.m. ET with a stacked undercard streaming LIVE and FREE around the globe on Spike.com, including a number of fighters looking to impress the Ontario crowd.
Promising featherweight prospect Alexandre “Popo” Bezerra will have his eyes on his seventh straight victory when he battles UFC veteran and Alaska native Doug Evans. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under the renowned Roberto Godoi, Bezerra moved to the States to become a trainer at Daddis Fight Camps in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Known by his teammates and fans simply as “Popo,” Bezerra is 3-0 with Bellator and has finished his opponents in all three of his victories.
Denis Puric, who calls Ohsweken home, will be in action against Windsor native Chuck Mady in a bantamweight feature. Mady has finished all five of his victories, and will be looking to make it six with a victory over Puric.
Lightweights collide as Josh Shockley will take on Bellator newcomer Eric Moon. Shockley has his sights set on collecting his first Bellator victory after falling to hands of long-time Bellator veteran Toby Imada at Bellator 36. Shockley was a last-minute addition to the Season 4 Lightweight Tournament and is eager to get back into the cage.
Two Canadian born lightweights meet when Orillia’s own Mike Sledzion battles Taylor Solomon, who calls Ohsweken home.
The night rounds out with Matt Van Buren squaring off with Ontario resident Shawn Levesque in a light heavyweight affair. After an impressive amateur run, Van Buren turned pro less than two years ago and has compiled a spotless 4-0 record in that time.
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.