I know the Curran vs Warren March 9th date is in the other Bellator thread. But the card is now official.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/27042/bellator-61-official-with-warren-vs-curran-featherweight-tourney-bouts.mmaBellator 61 is now official for March 9, and the card will host Bellator
Fighting Championships' season-six featherweight tournament
quarterfinals, as well as a 145-pound championship fight.
As
MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) previously reported, featherweight champ Joe Warren headlines the event against Pat Curran.
Bellator officials today announced the card also features Marlon Sandro
vs. Roberto Vargas, Wagnney Fabiano vs. Ronnie Mann, Alexandre "PoPo"
Bezerra vs. Genair da Silva and Jeremy Spoon vs. Daniel Straus.
Bellator 61 takes place at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind. The
evening's main card airs on MTV2, and the prelims stream free on
Spike.com.
Sandro (20-3 MMA, 3-1 BFC), a former World Victory Road/Sengoku champion
and ex-King of Pancrase, defeated da Silva and Nazareno Malegarie
before his head-kick-KO loss to Curran in Bellator's recent "Summer
Series" tourney finale. He's now 6-2 over his past eight fights, and the
defeats came to Curran and notable Hatsu Hioki in Japan.
The Brazilian fighter and Nova Uniao team member returned to Bellator in
the recently concluded "Summer Series" season and picked up a
first-round submission victory over Rafael Dias in a non-tourney fight.
It marked his 11th stoppage win in 20 career victories.
Vargas (12-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC) has fought twice under the Bellator banner;
"Beto" earned a unanimous-decision win over Daniel Pineda at Bellator 6
before the split-decision defeat to Reis at Bellator 10. Since then,
he's won six straight fights, which included a recent split-decision
victory over previously unbeaten Jared Downing at Shark Fights 20.
Fabiano (14-3 MMA, 0-0 BFC) competes for the first time since a WEC 52
bantamweight loss to Joseph Benavidez saw him released from the
promotion. Fabiano went 4-2 during a six-fight streak under the WEC
banner, earning wins over Frank Gomez, Clint Godfrey, Fredson Paixao and
Akitoshi Tamura while losing to Benavidez and Mackens Semerzier.
Prior to his WEC run, Fabiano earned six-straight wins fighting for the
International Fight League, becoming the promotion's first and only
featherweight champion and defending the title once before the promotion
shuttered.
Mann (21-4-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC), a former Cage Rage and World Victory
Road/Sengoku fighter, joined Bellator earlier this year. After knocking
out Adam Schindler in the opening round of the "Summer Series" tourney,
he suffered a decision loss to Pat Curran in the semifinals and was
bounced from the tournament.
During the recently concluded "Summer Series," Mann had a successful
return to competition and submitted Kenny Foster to help secure a berth
in the season-six tourney. Mann is now 5-1 over his past six fights and
10-2 over the past four years. Aside from Curran, the Team Tompkins
fighter's only other loss during the stretch came to notable Hatsu Hioki
in the 2009 Sengoku featherweight grand prix.
Bezerra (11-1 MMA, 4-0 BFC) should be a familiar name to Bellator fans,
as the Brazilian has competed four times for the promotion in
non-tournament contests. All four fights ended via stoppage and three
came in the very first round.
Bezerra's lone career loss came via submission in a September 2009 bout
with current UFC contender Charles Oliveira. Eleven of his 12 wins have
via stoppage (four knockouts and seven submissions).
Da Silva (11-4 MMA, 1-1 BFC), a Brazilian who had a successful
three-year run on the country's regional circuit, signed with Bellator
earlier this year before suffering the defeat to Sandro. However, he
made a victorious return to the organization and secured his spot in the
upcoming tournament with a recent first-round submission victory over
Bellator regular Bryan Goldsby in October at Bellator 52.
Da Silva now owns eight stoppages (six knockouts) in 11 career wins. He's also won five of his past six fights.
Spoon (12-0 MMA, 2-0 BFC) secured his tourney berth with a recent Bellator 56 win over Adam
Schindler. He also owns a Bellator victory over Jerrod Sanders and an
early-career win over Jose Vega, who eventually joined Bellator.
Straus (17-4 MMA, 3-1 BFC) is a former tourney finalist, earning his way
to the finals of the promotion's season-four tournament with wins over
Kenny Foster and Nazareno Malegarie. Straus suffered a decision loss in
the finals to Patricio "Pitbull" Freire.
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