The already scheduled light heavyweight bout between Liam McGeary and Mike Mucitelli at next week’s Bellator 118 has more meaning as the fight will now be an opening round bout in the next light heavyweight tournament.
Bellator made the announcement of this fight being a tournament fight on Wednesday and the other opening round bouts of this tournament will take place in the Summer Series.
Bellator 118 will come from the Revel Casino in Atlantic City next Friday night and the fight card will be headlined by Eduardo Dantas defending the bantamweight title against season nine tournament winner Joe Warren.
McGeary (6-0) is originally from England and trains at Renzo Gracie’s gym. He has opened his career with three straight opening round stoppage victories in Bellator and he is excited for this opportunity.
“This is why you put in all the hours at the gym, for this type of opportunity,” McGeary said. “I’ve been away from home for a long time now, but it’s all for this chance. It’s my first tournament run, and I’m looking to get that opening round out of the way with a knockout. Mike is a tough dude, but I know what I’m capable of, and it’s going to be a really fun fight. Can’t wait.”
Mucitelli (6-0) made his debut in Bellator in 2012 and is tied for the most submission victories in Bellator light heavyweight history. He is coming off a decision win at Bellator 107 against Ryan McCurdy and it was the first time in his career that he has made it out of the first round.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be part of the Bellator tournament,” Mucitelli said. “McGeary is a great opponent for me and I am going to make a big statement in this fight. I am ready to show the world what I can do and the fans at Revel should expect an all-out war.”
The current Bellator 118: Dantas vs. Warren fight card is below.
Main Card: (Spike TV – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Eduardo Dantas (16-3) vs. Joe Warren (10-3)
Andrey Koreshkov (15-1) vs. Sam Oropeza (11-2) *
Liam McGeary (6-0) vs. Mike Mucitelli (6-0) **
Marcos Galvao (15-6-1) vs. Thomas Vasquez (7-0)
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com – 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
Gemiyale Adkins (8-6) vs. Dante Rivera (15-7)
Jesus Martinez (8-5) vs. Ryan Contaldi (7-7)
Joe Pingitore (4-1-1) vs. Darrion Caldwell (4-0)
Jay Haas (11-13) vs. Lester Caslow (11-9)
Julian Lane (6-3-1) vs. Anthony Morrison (18-10) #
Tim Woods (6-4) vs. Eugene Fadiora (13-1)
Mike Bannon (5-1) vs. Sidney Outlaw (2-0)
Amran Aliyev (3-2) vs. Kevin Roddy (13-15-1)
* – Welterweight Tournament Semifinal
** – Light Heavyweight Tournament Opening Round
# – Catchweight bout of 151 pounds