The eighth season of Bellator MMA continues tonight with Bellator 86 at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma and will be headlined by Ben Askren defending the Bellator welterweight title against Karl Amoussou. 
Tonight’s fight card will also feature the final quarterfinal fight in the light heavyweight tournament as former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal makes his Bellator debut against Przemyslaw Mysiala.
The preliminary card will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will be streamed on Spike.com and this portion of the card will feature two of the welterweight tournament quarterfinals.
The main card will then begin at 10 p.m. ET on Spike TV and will have four fights, which included the other two quarterfinal bouts in the welterweight tournament.
In the main event tonight, Askren (10-0) will be making his third welterweight title defense when he is challenged by Amoussou (16-4-2), who secured this title shot by winning the season six Bellator tournament.
During the build up to this fight, Amoussou has called Askren a “lay and prayer” and has stated that he will knockout Askren in the first round. He has moved his training to American Top Team in Florida and has worked on his takedown defense. He will have to stop the takedown attempts of Askren and stay off his back. If Askren is able to get the fight to the ground, Amoussou will have to get off his back quickly or it could be a long night for him.
Askren is not a fan favorite because of his fighting style, but it’s very successful for him. He will look for the takedown once the fight starts and it’s highly unlikely that he will stand with Amoussou. If the fight is a ground fight, Askren should be able to retain his title. However, if Amoussou is able to keep the fight standing, he could become the third Bellator welterweight champion.
The full Bellator 86 fight card is below, with the bracket for the welterweight tournament and live coverage on TheMMAReport.com from Bellator 86 in Thackerville will begin tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
Main Card: (Spike TV – 10 p.m. ET)
Ben Askren (10-0) vs. Karl Amoussou (16-4-2)
Przemyslaw Mysiala (16-7) vs. Muhammed Lawal (8-1) #
Douglas Lima (22-5) vs. Michail Tsarev (24-3) *
Koffie Adzitso (18-9) vs. Ben Saunders (13-5-2) *
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com – 8 p.m. ET)
Hunter Tucker (4-0) vs. Javier Obregon (4-3)
Marius Zaromskis (19-7) vs. Brent Weedman (20-8) *
Raul Amaya (10-1) vs. Jose Gomes (32-8) *
Chris Pham (2-0) vs. Jason Sampson (9-1)
Zach Church (1-1) vs. Damon Jackson (3-0)
Matt Jones (4-3) vs. Cortez Coleman (8-3)
# – Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal
* – Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal
