Newport Beach, Calif. (February 7, 2014) – The Bellator Light Heavyweight World Title will be settled on Friday, March 21st from the Kansas Star Arena, live on Spike TV. The event is headlined by the World title fight when Champion Attila Vegh defends his belt against “The Hardcore Kid” Emmanuel Newton as well as the opening rounds of the Bellator Lightweight Tournament, including Kansas’s own David “The Caveman” Rickels facing Brazilian Knockout artist Patricy Pitbull, and full card of local talent.
The event will broadcast live starting at 9 p.m. EST/ 8 p.m. CT on Spike TV. The preliminary card will be streamed live and free exclusively on Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. CT. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at www.kansasstararena.com or by visiting the Kanas Star Arena Box Office.
Stepping into the cage for the first time since October of 2012, Gary Tapusoa will kick off the Spike.com show in a fight against Brian Rogers. Known for his knockout power, Rogers has won eight of his 10 professional fights by KO and is looking to collect another knockout against Tapusoa.
After defeating Matt Uhde via TKO within 52 seconds during his Bellator debut in October, Maurice Jackson will return to the Bellator cage and face Daniel Gallemore in a heavyweight battle. Jackson has won all of his professional victories by first round KO or submission and sees his fight with Gallemore ending with a quick finish.
At 33 years old, L.C. Davis will make his Bellator debut against Tory Bogguess. With an impressive 20-6 record, Davis will look to his previous experiences in the cage to get past Bogguess, who has won his previous two fights by first round submission.
With a 17-3 professional record, submission ace Israel Giron will meet Kansas native Cody Carrillo under the bright lights on March 21st. Carrillo is ready to put on an explosive fight for his home state crowd, but will have to hold off Giron who has 13 victories by submission. Giron will be making his Bellator debut after being discovered during Bellator’s recent Latin American tryouts.
After being featured as a participant on Bellator MMA’s reality TV show Fight Master, Tim Welch will look to make his mark in the Bellator cage against Donnie Bell. Heading into this fight on a three-fight win streak all coming by first round submission, Bell’s ground game will be his biggest asset against Welch.
Kansas’s own Marcio Navarro will put his talents to the test and face Bobby Cooper in a lightweight bout. Cooper will step into the Bellator cage for the first time and is ready to give the Kansas Star Arena fans an exciting fight.
The full fight card is listed below.
MAIN CARD
Light Heavyweight World Title: Attila Vegh (29-4) vs. Emanuel Newton (22-7)
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: David Rickels (15-2) vs. Patricky Pitbull (11-5)
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Marcin Held (16-3) vs. Rodrigo Cavalheiro (14-2)
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Terry Etim (16-5) vs. Derek Anderson (10-0)
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Brandon Girtz (10-3) vs. Derek Campos (13-3)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Marcio Navarro (9-9) vs. Bobby Cooper (8-4)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Donnie Bell (8-2) vs. Tim Welch (10-4)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Tory Bogguess (10-7) vs. L.C. Davis (20-6)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Brian Rogers (10-6) vs. Gary Tapusoa (8-2)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Maurice Jackson (2-1) vs. Daniel Gallemore (2-2)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Israel Giron (17-3) vs. Cody Carrillo (4-7)
