Bellator will return Friday night as the promotion will be at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California and the event will be headlined by a title fight as Brandon Halsey defends the Bellator middleweight title against Kendall Grove.
The fight card will begin at 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT with the online preliminary card and the four fight main card will start at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Spike TV.
Along with the title fight, the main card on Spike TV see a key bantamweight bout in the co-main event as Eduardo Dantas steps into the Bellator cage for the first time since losing the Bellator 135 pound title as he faces Mike Richman.
Check out a breakdown of the four fights that will be on the main card broadcast on Spike TV on Friday night.
Brandon Halsey (8-0) vs. Kendall Grove (21-14, 1NC)
Halsey became the Bellator middleweight champion last year when he only needed 35 seconds to defeat Alexander Shlemenko by submission. Six of his eight professional victories have come in Bellator and three of those wins have come by submission.
- His 35 second win against Shlemenko is the fastest stoppage in a Bellator title fight and the 5th fastest submission in Bellator history.
- Currently tied with featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull for the 2nd longest active winning streak in Bellator.
- 65 percent takedown accuracy in Bellator cage (13/20).
Grove entered Bellator in late 2013 and has won two of his three fights in the promotion. After losing to Brett Cooper in the season ten middleweight tournament last year, he scored a submission victory against former Bellator light heavyweight champion Christian M’Pumbu.
- 2nd straight fight to take place at the Pechanga Resort and Casino and is 3-1 in his last 4 fights.
- Ultimate Fighter 3 Middleweight winner.
- 15 of his 21 wins are by stoppage (5 TKO/KO, 10 Submissions).
Eduardo Dantas (16-4) vs. Mike Richman (18-5)
The former Bellator bantamweight champion will look to get back on track against Richman. He has won six of his seven fights in the Bellator cage and four of those have come by stoppage.
- Tied with former Bellator champion Zach Makovsky and current Bellator champion Marcos Galvao for the most wins in Bellator bantamweight division history.
- Tied for most submissions in Bellator bantamweight division with Galvao and most TKO/KO wins with Makovsky.
- His last three wins have come by stoppage in the second round.
Richman dropped down to the bantamweight division last year and has won both of his fights in the division by TKO/KO in the first round. His most recent win came in November against Nam Phan by TKO at Bellator 131.
- Holds the 2nd fastest win in Bellator featherweight division history with his 23 second win against Jeremy Spoon at Bellator 76.
- His 6 TKO/KO wins in the Bellator cage is tied with Shlemenko for the 3rd most in Bellator history.
- He has 7 wins in Bellator and 6 of those have come in the first round.
Fernando Gonzalez (23-13) vs. Curtis Millender (7-1)
Gonzalez made his debut with Bellator last year and he has scored three straight victories against Karl Amoussou, Karo Parisyan, and Marius Zaromskis. He has gone to the decision in two of those three fights and all of his fights in Bellator have taken place at the Pechanga Resort and Casino.
- 15 wins by stoppage (9 TKO/KO, 5 Submissions).
- 100 percent takedown accuracy in Bellator (4/4).
- 36 percent striking accuracy in Bellator (243/661).
Millender entered Bellator at the beginning of the year and suffered his first career defeat at Brennan Ward at Bellator 134. Prior to entering Bellator, he had won seven in a row and five of those wins came by decision.
- Both of his stoppage wins (TKO/KO) have come in the first round.
- Prior to entering Bellator, he defeated James Chaney by TKO in 48 seconds.
- Only one of his professional fights have taken place outside the state of California.
Darrion Caldwell (6-0) vs. Rafael Silva (22-4)
After going 3-0 in the Bellator featherweight division, Caldwell is dropping down to the bantamweight division. Two of his three wins in Bellator have come by submission in the first round.
- In his Bellator debut, he scored the fastest submission win in Bellator featherweight division history with a guillotine choke win against Lance Surma in 50 seconds.
- His 2 submissions win in the Bellator featherweight division is tied with multiple fighters for the 2nd most in the promotions 145 pound division history.
- 66 percent striking accuracy in Bellator (43/65).
Silva has won three of his four fights in Bellator and won the 2013 Summer Series bantamweight tournament. His only defeat in Bellator came against former Bellator bantamweight champion Joe Warren and he is coming off a decision win against Rob Emerson.
- Three of his four Bellator fights have gone the distance.
- 81 percent takedown accuracy in Bellator (18/22).
- Holds a decision victory over current UFC bantamweight John Lineker.
The current Bellator 137: Halsey vs. Grove fight card is below.
Main Card (Spike TV – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Brandon Halsey (8-0) vs. Kendall Grove (21-14, 1NC)
Eduardo Dantas (16-4) vs. Mike Richman (18-5)
Fernando Gonzalez (23-13) vs. Curtis Millender (7-1)
Darrion Caldwell (6-0) vs. Rafael Silva (22-4)
Preliminary Card (Spike.com 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. ET)
Ben Reiter (15-0-1) vs. Benji Radach (21-6, 1NC)
Virgil Zwicker (13-4-1) vs. Razak Al-Hassan (12-4)
Joe Taimanglo (20-6-1) vs. Antonio Duarte (18-5)
Jordan Parsons (10-1) vs. Julio Cesar Neves Jr. (30-0)
Jesse Juarez (22-9) vs. Ricky Rainey (10-3)
John Yoo (0-0) vs. Albert Morales (1-0) *
Shawn Bunch (3-1) vs. Rolando Perez (7-4-2) *
Steve Kozola (5-0) vs. Ian Butler (1-1) *
A.J. Jenkins (17-5) vs. Arlene Blencowe (5-4) *
* – Will be a dark fight following main card