Bellator 28 card finalized

In what is Bellator's least important and probably least stacked card since the mysterious first season -

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One day after holding a thrilling featherweight title fight in San Antonio, Texas, Bellator Fighting Championships officials are now turning their attention to "The Big Easy."

Bellator today announced the four main-card fights for next week's Bellator 28 event, which takes place Sept. 9 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans.

The contests include Rich Clementi vs. Carey Vanier and Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Anthony Leone, a pair of "tournament qualifier" which were previously reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), as well as two new bouts in Matt Horwich vs. Eric Schambari and Marcus Andrusia vs. Eric Larkin.

As with all Bellator events, the main card for Bellator 28 airs on FOX Sports Net.

New Orleans native Clementi (36-16-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) is 5-2 since his third and most recent stint in the UFC, which included an appearance on "The Ultimate Fighter 4." The fighter, promoter and agent submitted all five of the opponents, including former WEC fighter and X Games gold medalist Mike Budnik at a January 5150 Combat League event.

His opponent, Varnier (9-3 MMA, 1-1 BFC), competed in Bellator's season-two lightweight tournament, in which he knocked out Joe Duarte but lost to eventual tourney runner-up Toby Imada in the semifinals. The loss marked the collegiate wrestler's first defeat in an eight-fight span.

A two-time UFC veteran and former International Fight League star, Horwich (25-15-1 MMA, 0-1 BFC) returns to Bellator after dropping a June 2009 decision to Bryan Baker in the promotion's first season. Horwich pieced together a 2-2 record outside of the promotion – a run that includes a fourth-round submission win over Thales Leites in August to claim the Powerhouse World Promotions first-ever middleweight title.

Schambari (12-2 MMA, 1-1 BFC) can sympathize with his opponent's loss to Baker. In fact, not only did Schambari fall to Baker in May during the semifinal of Bellator's season-two tournament, he was also defeated by him in December 2007 under the WEC banner. Schambari is undefeated against opponents not named Bryan Baker and has earned 11 of his 12 wins via stoppage.

Karakhanyan (13-2-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC), a former pro soccer player, went 1-1 in Bellator's season-two featherweight tournament with a KO win over Bao Quach and a decision loss to eventual tourney champ Joe Warren. Eleven of his 13 wins came by way of stoppage, and no opponent has ever stopped him.

His opponent, Skelly (7-0 MMA, 1-0 BFC), is a veteran of the Texas fight circuit who's submitted five of his seven opponents. In his May Bellator debut, he secured a second-round submission victory over Daniel Pineda with a kneebar.

Andrusia (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) makes his Bellator debut. The Louisiana native has a unique opportunity to impress with a national TV slot early in his career.

He faces fellow prospect Larkin (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC), who is also fighting under the Bellator banner for the first time. Larkin brings an outstanding wrestling pedigree to the cage as a four-time All-American and 2003 Division I national champion.

No tournament fights is a rarity. Still, Horwich should be riding some momentum after a somewhat thrilling championship rounds submission over Thales Leites at the same show that Tim Sylvia flattened Paul Buentello in.

Kind of a lull though after last weeks Bellator which saw the thrilling Soto-Warren clash and three bantamweight tournament bouts with six fighters that all look like they belong in the WEC.

crap!