A key matchup in the Bellator featherweight division has been added to the Bellator 159 card next month in Kansas as former title challenger Daniel Weichel will meet Emmanuel Sanchez.
Along with announcing this fight today, Bellator also revealed that Philipe Lins vs. Guilherme Viana and Bruna Ellen vs. Jessica Middleton have been booked for the Bellator 159 main card on Spike.
Bellator 159 will come from the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas on July 22 and will be headlined by a title eliminator fight in the bantamweight division as Darrion Caldwell will look to remain undefeated as he will face Joe Taimanglo.
Weichel (36-9) has won eight of his last nine fights and is coming off a decision win against Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 147. His only lost in his last nine fights came last year in a title fight as he lost to Patricio Pitbull by knockout at Bellator 138. Sanchez (13-2) is currently on a three fight winning streak and is 5-1 in Bellator. During his recent winning streak, all of the wins have come by split decision and his most recent win came in February at Bellator 149 against Daniel Pineda.
Lins (9-1) will be returning to competition for the first time in two years after suffering an injury in his defeat against Kelly Anundson at Bellator 122. Seven of his nine victories have come by finish and he is 2-1 in Bellator. Viana (7-2) is coming off a TKO win in November against Houston Alexander and he is 4-1 in his last five fights. All of his victories have come by stoppage and five of those wins have come by TKO/KO.
Ellen (2-0) will be making her Bellator debut against Middleton and this will be her first fight since defeating Pamela Mara Assis last year at Max Fights 10. Middleton (0-0) will be making her pro debut in this bout after going 4-1 as an amateur.
The current Bellator 159: Caldwell vs. Taimanglo fight card is below.
Main Card: (Spike – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Darrion Caldwell (9-0) vs. Joe Taimanglo (22-6)
David Rickels (17-4, 1 NC) vs. Melvin Guillard (32-16-2, 2 NC)
Daniel Weichel (36-9) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (13-2)
Philipe Lins (9-1) vs. Guilherme Viana (7-2)
Bruna Ellen (2-0) vs. Jessica Middleton (0-0)
Preliminary Card: (Bellator.com – 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT)
Bruna Vargas (2-0) vs. Emily Ducote (2-1)
Gaston Reyno (5-1, 1 NC) vs. L.J. Hermreck (3-1)
Manny Meraz (8-2) vs. Trey Ogden (5-1)
Chris Harris (6-0) vs. Matt Foster (6-8)
Marcio Navarro (14-12) vs. Fernando Martinez (14-10-1)
Johnny Marigo (1-0) vs. Andy Riley (2-1)
Josh Pfeifer (4-2) vs. Henry Lindsay (5-5)
Chuka Willis (8-2) vs. Brandon Phillips (5-1)