The main event of next week’s Bellator 153 will be a welterweight title fight as Andrey Koreshkov makes his first title defense against former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and John McCarthy will the third man in the cage.
Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation Director Mike Mazzulli confirmed to The MMA Report on Thursday that McCarthy will be the referee for the title fight. Along with assigning McCarthy as the referee, Mazzulli has assigned Sue Sanidad, Troy Wincapow, and Dave Terilli to be the judges for the fight.
Bellator 153: Koreshkov vs. Henderson will come from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut next Friday night and the current fight card lineup is below.
Main Card: (Spike TV – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT)
Andrey Koreshkov (18-1) vs. Benson Henderson (23-5)
Patricio Freire (24-3) vs. Henry Corrales (12-2)
Brennan Ward (13-3) vs. Evangelista Santos (20-16)
Michael Page (9-0) vs. Jeremie Holloway (7-1)
Brent Primus (6-0) vs. Gleristone Santos (27-5)
Preliminary Card: (Bellator.com – 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
Chris Honeycutt (6-1, 1NC) vs. Matt Secor (7-2)
Djamil Chan (11-2) vs. Richard Patishnock (6-3)
Sam Watford (1-0) vs. Dean Hancock (2-0)
Chris Foster (8-4) vs. Felipe Lavandoski (5-0)
Jason Bakanowski (3-2) vs. T.J. Hepburn (4-2)
Mike Mangan (0-3) vs. TBA
Mike Zichelle (7-4) vs. Joe Cronin (19-16)
Matt Bessette (17-7) vs. Keith Richardson (14-6)
Tim Caron (3-0) vs. Justin Sumter (0-0)
Blair Tugman (7-6) vs. Jay Perrin (2-1)