Newport Beach, CA. (October 30, 2013) – The Toughest Tournament in Sports continues Friday, November 8th as Winstar World Casino plays host to the Bellator Heavyweight, Bantamweight and Middleweight Tournament Finals. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Winstar World Casino Box Office. The event will broadcast live at 9 p.m ET/8 p.m. CT on Spike TV.
After punching his ticket to the tournament final with a devastating combination of strikes and knees for a TKO win over Mark Godbeer, Cheick Kongo will now face Australia’s own Peter Graham in the Heavyweight Tournament Finals after Vinicius Spartan suffered a knee injury during training. Graham picked up his first Bellator victory with a tournament qualifier victory over Eric Prindle at Bellator 104, and will now take his place in the Heavyweight Finals, one win away from battling for the Heavyweight title. With his sights on set on capturing his first tournament crown, Kongo will have to put a stop to Graham’s current eight-fight win streak.
“I want to fight the best in Bellator so I can be the best,” Kongo said. “When I try to do things as a competitor, I want to be the best. I messed up before because I wasn’t focused like I’ve been from the beginning. But, now … I will be the best. It’s my time. I came to Bellator for the opportunity to show the best Cheick Kongo. And that’s it.”
On the road to become only the second fighter in Bellator history to win a tournament in two different weight classes, “The Baddest Man on the Planet” Joe Warren returns to the Bellator cage and will face MMA veteran Travis Marx the Bellator Bantamweight Tournament Final.
“The Baddest Man on the Planet is back,” Warren said. “I’m one win away from getting back to exactly where I want to be, fighting for that belt. This is what I work for, this is what I train for, and nothing is going to get in the way of that.”
The night will also feature the Bellator Middleweight Tournament Final in a fight between Brennan Ward and Denmark’s own Mikkel Parlo. After finishing both of his opponents in the opening and semifinal rounds, Ward doesn’t see his fight with Parlo ending any differently.
“I am super amped up to fight Parlo in the finals,” Ward said. “I feel like there is no way he can beat me. I am always looking to finish and that is the only way to go. Go big or go home!”
“We’ve now got three huge Bellator Tournament Finals featured on an incredibly deep card November 8thfrom WinStar World Casino, this is going to be an awesome night of fights on Spike,” Bellator CEO & Chairman Bjorn Rebney said.
Additionally, the event features packed preliminary card of local talent including Oklahoma’s Ryan McCurdy as he makes his Bellator debut against Mike Mucitelli. Fan favorite Cortez Coleman will also return to the Bellator cage in a battle against Jonas Billstein. All of the preliminary fights will be streamed live and free on Spike.com beginning at 6 p.m. CST.
The full card is listed below.
MAIN CARD:
Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Final: Cheick Kongo (19-8) vs. Peter Graham (9-5)
Bellator Bantamweight Tournament Final: Travis Marx (21-4) vs. Joe Warren (9-3)
Bellator Middleweight Tournament Final: Brennan Ward (8-1) vs. Mikkel Parlo (11-1)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Edson Berto (17-10) vs. Patricky Pitbull (11-4)
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Lightweight Feature Fight: Martin Stapleton (12-1) vs. Derek Campos (11-3)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Jonas Billstein (11-3) vs. Cortez Coleman (9-4)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Matt Jones (4-5) vs. Linton Vassell (11-3)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Ryan McCurdy (8-3) vs. Mike Mucitelli (6-0)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Raphael Butler (6-0) vs. Josh Burns (8-6)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Robert White (3-0) vs. Chris Jones (8-2)
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/BellatorMMA
