SAN DIEGO—Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the first part of its 2015 schedule.
The announcement features four title fights spread over the first three months of 2015. Bellator President Scott Coker unveiled the fights during a special press conference prior to the start of Bellator 131. Bleacher Report was in attendance.
Bellator 131 takes place at the Valley View Casino Center. A light heavyweight bout between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar headlines the event.
Gone are the days of Bellator running weekly events. Under the announced schedule, Bellator will run one event per month in January, February and March. Accompanying those events will be a special “tentpole” fight night, held on a Saturday once per quarter. David Schwarz, Senior Vice President of Communications for Spike TV, told Bleacher Report on Thursday that they are targeting 16 events for 2015.
The first event on Bellator’s 2015 calendar is Bellator 132, which takes place Friday, January 16 at the Pechanga Casino Resort in Temecula, California. The main event features a featherweight title fight between Patricio “Pitbull” Friere and Daniel Straus. Straus, the former featherweight titleholder, lost the title to Pat Curran in March 2014.
Bellator 133 takes place on February 27 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Douglas Lima defends his welterweight title against Paul Daley. Daley will make his Bellator return after undergoing legal issues with his travel visa. It also features a light heavyweight title fight between Emmanuel Newton and Liam McGeary.
On the undercard, heavyweight brutes Bobby Lashley and James Thompson will face off, and Sokoudjou takes on Linton Vassel.
The final announced fight card is Bellator 134 on March 27, which takes place at the Worldstar Casino Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. It features a bantamweight championship fight between Joe Warren and Marcos Galvao.
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