Light heavyweight tournament winner Phil Davis will face Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal in the main event of Bellator 154 on May 14, 2016, airing live on SPIKE TV from San Jose, Calif.
In the co-main event, former UFCer Josh Thomson will battle recently re-signed former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler.
The announcement was made during the Bellator 149 broadcast prior to the Melvin Guillard vs. Derek Campos scrap.
Davis, 15-3 (1), was supposed to fight Lawal, 19-4 (1), in the finals of Bellator’s Dynamite 1 one-night tournament back in September, but the “King” bowed out with a hip injury after winning his fight. He was later scheduled to battle the current Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary, however the latter fighter was felled with an injury.
Thus, this fight will determine the number one contender in the division.
Meanwhile, “The Real Punk”, 22-8 (1), will meet Chandler, 14-3, for an opportunity to climb to the top of the contenders list at 155 pounds. Thomson is 2-0 in Bellator since signing with the promotion in the summer of 2015, both by way of stoppage over his opponents Mike Bronzoulis and Pablo Villaseca.
Chandler is a big step up for Thomson, however, as the hulking 155-pounder once held Bellator’s strap around his waist. The fighter is also 2-0 recently, with wins over Derek Campos and David Rickels, also by way of stoppage.
“Bellator 154: Davis vs. King Mo” takes place on May 14, and airs live on SPIKE at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.