The main event for Bellator 136 on April 10th in Irvine, California is now set as Will Brooks will defend the Bellator lightweight title against Dave Jansen.
The fight booking was reported by ESPN today and in addition to the title fight, the fight card will feature a middleweight bout between Joe Schilling and Rafael Carvalho.
Bellator 136 will come from the Bren Events Center and sources have indicated to The MMA Report that this will not be one of the four “tent pole” events for Bellator in 2015.
Brooks (15-1) became the undisputed Bellator lightweight champion in November when he defeated Michael Chandler by TKO in the fourth round. It was the sixth straight win for him and it was his second win over the former Bellator champion. Jansen (20-2) won the season seven lightweight tournament to secure this title shot and he is currently on a seven fight winning streak. His most recent win came in October as he defeated Rick Hawn by unanimous decision.
Schilling (2-3) returned to MMA last year after not taking a MMA fight since 2008 and he defeated Melvin Manhoef by knockout. He won the fight in the second round and it was a candidate for knockout of the year. Carvalho (10-1) has won ten straight since losing his pro debut and won his Bellator debut against Brian Rogers. Nine of his ten wins have come by TKO/KO and five of them have come in the first round.
“I’m really looking forward to this one,” said Bellator President Scott Coker. “Brooks and Schilling were two huge components to our successful show last November, and I wanted to get them another fight as quickly as possible. With Will Brooks, you’ve got a phenomenal athlete with a tremendous personality. He is someone who brings it each and every time he gets in the cage. Joe Schilling is one of those incredible strikers who just has danger written all over him. I think our team has really done a great job in finding both of these guys extremely tough opponents in Jansen and Carvalho respectively, and I’m happy that I’ll have one of the best seats in the house.”
Tickets for Bellator 136: Brooks vs. Jansen go on sale next Friday, February 13 at 10 a.m. PT and are available online at www.ucirvinetickets.com and through the UC Irvine Ticket Office.