Jun 2, 2014 | General News, Special Events, Sports
Connecticut’s Brennan Ward Battles Bellator Newcomer James Irvin; Main Event To Be Announced In Coming Weeks 
Bellator will kick off its highly anticipated Season 11 on Friday, September 5th as the promotion returns to Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena to host Bellator 123 live on Spike TV. The night will feature the return of “The Irish Bad Boy” Brennan Ward as he battles James Irvin in a middleweight feature fight. The night will also feature the start of the Bellator Season 11 Middleweight Tournament. Participants for the eight man field as well as the main event of the evening will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets for Bellator 123 go on sale on Friday June 6th at 10:00am EST and can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com, Bellator.com or by visiting the Mohegan Sun Box Office. Bellator 123 will broadcast live at 9:00pm EST/ 8:00pm CST on Spike TV. The preliminary card will be streamed live and free on Spike.com beginning at 7:00pm EST/ 6:00pm CST.
Ward returns to the Bellator cage after suffering defeat at the hands of reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion Alexander Shlemenko in March of 2014. After storming through the Season 9 Middleweight Tournament with three straight finishes, Ward is looking to get back to his winning ways against Irvin on September 5th.
“It’s my time and he had his,” Ward proclaimed. “I’ve been putting in the work and this guy is just in my way to getting back to where I need to be. The Sandman is going to get planked in the fourth minute of the first round, I’m already calling my shot!”
“The Sandman is back,” Irvin said. “This is where the road turns for me. I’m back, and fighting under the bright lights again for a huge promotion like Bellator, and have a tough test ahead of me in a guy like Brennan Ward. I know he likes to run his mouth and he’s a young guy, but I’m knocking this kid out on my way back to the top.”
“It’s going to be another incredible night at Mohegan Sun on September 5th,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “Mohegan Sun has hosted some of the most memorable moments in Bellator history and I couldn’t think of a better venue to kick off what will be a huge Season 11 for Bellator. I can’t wait to get Brennan back in the cage, our Middleweight Tournament will be stacked, and we are going to open our Season 11 in a huge way on Friday, September 5th.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA
About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes worldwide in over 140 countries, Bellator’s majority owner is entertainment giant Viacom. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. With over 180 world-class athletes under contract, Bellator is home to many of the sport’s top mixed martial artists. Bellator’s founder & CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment executive with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator’s core philosophy is that title shots should be earned, not given. This belief gave rise to Bellator’s real sport, tournament-based format, which gives Bellator’s tournaments a true playoff feel that keeps the sport true and distances itself from the subjective side of fighting sports found in organizations that utilize a matchmaking/casting formula. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Newport Beach, California.
About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.
Mohegan Sun Arena is now ranked consistently among the top venues in the world according to Billboard Magazine, Pollstar and Venues Today. It has won “Casino of The Year” at the Country Music Awards in 2008 & 2010 and in 2013, was voted “Arena Of The Year” at the G2E Global Gaming Conference in Las Vegas. Also in 2013, Mohegan Sun won “Casino of The Year” in 2 categories at the Academy of Country Music Awards. For more information on concerts and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.
May 22, 2009 | Sports
Two warriors will compete for the World Welterweight Championship Title
Bellator Fighting Championships will continue its 12-week, nationwide world championship series with its eleventh event, Bellator XI, taking place at Mohegan Sun on Friday, June 12th at 8:00pm. Returning to Mohegan Sun after the packed house at Bellator II, June’s event will feature the Bellator World Welterweight Championship bout in Uncasville.
Tickets are $60.00 and $30.00 and are on sale now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.
“We have seen spectacular action in the Welterweight division and can’t wait to see the culmination of our three-month tournament with a world title fight at Mohegan Sun, the Northeast’s premier casino/resort location,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Bellator fighters earn their right to compete for the world championship title by beating the best the division has to offer, and this division, stocked with undefeated phenoms, former champions and world-class challengers, has been really entertaining. We are genuinely looking forward to sharing this excitement and passion with Bellator’s fans during our second trip to Connecticut.”
The championship bout will feature Dominican standout Omar De La Cruz vs. undefeated Tiger Schulmann phenom Lyman Good. Undercard fighters for Bellator XI will include the explosive Uriah Hall and the return of Matt “Weapon X” Makowski. All the action will occur live at Mohegan Sun Friday, June 12, 2009 and will air exclusively on ESPN Deportes on Saturday, June 13, 2009.
Tournament Bouts:
World Welterweight Championship Final Bout:
170 lbs. – Lyman Good (9-0) vs. Omar De La Cruz (5-1)
Non-Tournament Bouts:
185 lbs. – Uriah Hall (1-0) vs. Armando Montoya (pro debut)
170 lbs. – Igor Gracie (1-1) vs. Vagner Rocha (1-0)
170 lbs. – Matt Makowski (5-1) vs. Justin Torrey (4-0)
135 lbs. – Collin Tebo vs. Nick Pace (1-0)
185 lbs. – David Branch (3-0) vs. Dennis Olsen (6-2)
135 lbs. – Jimmie Rivera (2-1) vs. Nick Garcia (1-2)
For more information on Bellator XI and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.
Mar 9, 2009 | Sports
Live Mixed Martial Arts Action in the Arena on Friday, April 10th
Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that Bellator II (the second event of the highly-anticipated 12-week tournament series airing on ESPN Deportes) will be held at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, April 10th at 8:00pm.
Tickets are $60.00 and $30.00 and are on sale now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.
“We are very pleased to bring world-class mixed martial arts events to Mohegan Sun’s spectacular venue,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The team at Mohegan Sun has a wealth of experience and expertise in hosting some of the world’s top fighting sports events and we look forward to building on that great legacy with them.”
Bellator II on Friday, April 10th will feature a collection of highly-competitive, evenly matched tournament bouts in the Featherweight (145 lbs.), Lightweight (155 lbs.) and Welterweight (170 lbs.) divisions, as well as a strong undercard including several featured non-tournament bouts. The fight card is detailed below:
Tournament Bouts:
145 lbs. – Wilson Reis (6-0) vs. Henry Martinez (5-1)
155 lbs. – Thomas Schulte (18-6) vs. Ivan Iberico (7-1/27-1)
170 lbs. – Lyman Good (7-0) vs. Hector Urbina (12-4)
170 lbs. – Jorge Ortiz (15-4) vs. Aaron Romero (5-2)
170 lbs. – Dave Menne (42-15) vs. Norman Paraisy (5-0)
170 lbs. – Omar De La Cruz (3-1) vs. Victor Meza (9-0)
Bob Yalen, Mohegan Sun’s Director of Sports & Entertainment said, “Bjorn and company have a history of producing high quality, competitive boxing events, and we have no reason not to expect the same as they embark into the world of mixed martial arts; Mohegan Sun is excited to be hosting the Bellator Mixed Martial Arts Fighting Championships here.”
Headlining Bellator’s Featherweight tournament on this stacked card is undefeated former EliteXC champion Wilson Reis and Albuquerque’s fastest rising star, the once-beaten Henry Martinez. The match-up is a battle of ground fighting aces, pitting Reis’ multiple Jiu-Jitsu World Championship skills against Martinez’s action-filled ground and pound game. Both are rising Featherweights on the world stage looking to establish their name amongst the world’s best. Reis is from Brazil, currently fighting out of Philadelphia, while Martinez fights out of famed Greg Jackson’s Fighting Academy in Albuquerque, NM.
Also looking to establish his name on the world stage is undefeated Welterweight Lyman Good, who will face heavy-handed knockout artist Hector Urbina. Both fighters are dropping from Middleweight to Welterweight for this championship tournament and both are established stand-up fighters; non-stop action is expected from this match-up. Lyman Good fights out of Queens, NY, by way of Puerto Rico and Hector Urbina fights out of Indiana, by way of Mexico.
April 10th will also witness the return to the world stage for former UFC Champion Dave Menne against France’s greatest Welterweight MMA fighter, the undefeated Norman Paraisy. Also featured in tournament competition will be a great clash between Mexico’s top Welterweight Jorge Ortiz and Denver’s promising Welterweight Aaron Romero.
The Lightweight division will feature a compelling match-up between submission ace and multiple world champion Thomas Schulte and the greatest MMA fighter in Peruvian history, Ivan Iberico. Schulte is an expert on the ground with all 18 wins coming via submission, and Iberico is the Peruvian national wrestling Champion who has a 7 win 1 loss record on the U.S. books, but who has established a spectacular 27 win 1 loss record including MMA fights in his native Peru.
Bellator Fighting Championships’ premiere season consists of 12 two-hour events to be broadcast weekly in primetime on Saturday nights. The nationally-televised events will feature a combination of tournament and non-tournament special feature bouts. There will be four simultaneous tournaments taking place in season #1 over a three-month period: one in each of the Featherweight (145 lbs.), Lightweight (155 lbs.), Welterweight (170 lbs.) and Middleweight (185 lbs.) divisions.
For more information on Bellator Fighting Championships and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. Bellator’s founders, Bjorn Rebney and Brad Epstein, are experienced fighting sports and entertainment professionals 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 (including Rob Beiner, winner of 12 Emmy awards for sports programming), fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan Tribe, is one of the largest, most distinctive and spectacular entertainment, gaming, shopping and meeting destinations in the United States. Situated on 240 acres along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence and located 15 minutes from the museums, antique shops and waterfront of Mystic Country. More information is available by calling 1.888.226.7711 or by visiting mohegansun.com.
