The ninth season of Bellator MMA will begin on September 7th from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut and the promotion has announced the bouts that will take place on the main card.
The main card broadcast on Spike TV will begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will be headlined by Alexander Shlemenko (47-7) making his first middleweight title defense as he is challenged by season eight tournament winner Doug Marshall (18-6).
Also on the main card will be the opening round of the season nine middleweight tournament, the return of former Bellator champion Joe Warren (8-3) meeting Nick Kirk (10-2) and the finale of Fight Master.
The opening round bouts in the middleweight tournament will feature tournament veterans mixed with tournament rookies with the matchups being Brett Cooper (19-8) vs. Andreas Spang (8-3), Dan Cramer (10-4) vs. Perry Filkins (7-1), Brian Rogers (10-5) vs. Mikkel Parlo (9-1) and Jason Butcher (6-0) vs. Giva Santana (18-2).
“This Fall’s season is the most stacked season we’ve ever had and this special Saturday night, 3-hour kick off free on Spike TV is an amazing first act,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “This Middleweight World Title fight has fight of the year written all over it. Adding Joe’s return, the Fight Master finale and the opening round of the Middleweight tourney will be an incredible night of fights at Mohegan Sun.”
Tickets for the event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Mohegan Sun Box Office, with tickets starting at just $30 dollars.
The current Bellator 98 card is below:
Alexander Shlemenko (47-7) vs. Doug Marshall (18-6)
Joe Warren (8-3) vs. Nick Kirk (10-2)
Brett Cooper (19-8) vs. Andreas Spang (8-3)
Dan Cramer (10-4) vs. Perry Filkins (7-1)
Brian Rogers (10-5) vs. Mikkel Parlo (9-1)
Jason Butcher (6-0) vs. Giva Santana (18-2)
TBA vs. TBA – Fight Master Finale