Bellator MMA will be returning to the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma on March 7th for Bellator 111, and the card will be headlined by a title fight as Eduardo Dantas defends the bantamweight title against Rafael Silva.
Bellator MMA officials announced the fight card on Thursday and this will mark the second event of the season ten schedule.
Tickets for the event will go on sale tomorrow 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, and the preliminary card will be streamed live and free on Spike.com beginning at 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT.
“With Dantas and Silva headlining the card, and a heavyweight tournament stacked with finishers, we’re all in for an explosive night on March 7th from WinStar World Casino,” Bellator Chairman & Chairman Bjorn Rebney said.
Dantas (15-3) won the bantamweight title in 2012 with a technical submission win over Zach Makovsky and is coming off a knockout win over Marcos Galvao in his first title defense at Bellator 89 last year.
“I’ve said all along I want to prove that I’m the true Bellator champion, because being the Bellator Bantamweight World Champion is the achievement of a dream for me,” Dantas said. “Rafael and I are friends, but Marcos Galvao and I are like brothers and I know I had a job to do then, and I know I have a job to do now.”
Silva (21-3) secured this title shot by winning the 2013 Summer Series bantamweight tournament with wins over Rodrigo Lima and Anthony Leone. He is currently on a thireteen fight winning streak and has not been defeated since 2011.
“I love Eduardo Dantas as a fighter and as a person,” Silva said. “We are good friends and I always cheer for him when he fights. I really like this guy. As a fighter he is as good as someone can be, but I know what this fight means to me, and nothing is going to get in the way of that. Nothing.”
Along with the title fight, the card will feature the opening round of the season ten heavyweight tournament with the matchups being Ryan Martinez (10-3) vs. Lavar Johnson (17-8), Peter Graham (9-6) vs. Mighty Mo (5-2), Alexander Volkov (19-4) vs. Mark Holata (12-4), and Blagoi Ivanov (9-0) vs. Rich Hale (21-6).
The current Bellator 111: Dantas vs Silva card is below and more fights will be announced in the coming weeks.
Eduardo Dantas (15-3) vs. Rafael Silva (21-3)
Ryan Martinez (10-3) vs. Lavar Johnson (17-8) *
Peter Graham (9-6) vs. Mighty Mo (5-2) *
Alexander Volkov (19-4) vs. Mark Holata (12-4) *
Blagoi Ivanov (9-0) vs. Rich Hale (21-6) *
* – Opening Round of Season Ten Heavyweight Tournament