Bellator MMA 179 Preview

MVP out of Bellator #179 in London!

Bellator once again comes to London with a flagship event, following last year’s electrifying outing, this time without local star Michael ‘Venom’ Page!

This Friday 19th May at London’s Wembley Arena, British MMA veteran Paul “Semtex” Daley will face Canadian superstar and Bellator newcomer, Rory MacDonald, in the evening’s main event.

British MMA Star Michael ‘Venom’ Page has unfortunately been pulled by his coach from the card at a late stage due to a knee injury. Seemingly, Bellator are working on a replacement for the main event fight, with a few days to go. This will come as a disappointment for MMA fans and in particular, those attending the event.

The rest of the main card is made up of two noteworthy contests, former Light Heavyweight champ Liam McGeary faces fellow brit Linton Vassell in a flagship event for British MMA. Heavyweight vet Cheick Kongo takes on Augusto Sakai as the opening event for the main card.

As an addition to the fight card ‘Baby Slice’, son of late great Kimbo Slice (Kevin Ferguson), fights newbie D.J. Griffin in a catch weight bout, with the rest of the undercard made up mostly of local talent from the UK MMA scene.

Bellator seem to be making a statement with this event, coupled with its first Pay-Per-View event later this year at Madison Square Garden, the organisation seems to be making strides in terms of the quality and depth of their larger events this year, leading many to consider whether there has been a shift in the power balance between the UFC and Bellator, who were traditionally seen as a second placed organisation.

The shift is building on the trend of many former and active UFC stars moving over to fill a now star-studded Bellator roster, as well as nurturing significant talent of their own.

The event will be shown on TV in the UK by Channel 5, with a one hour tape delay.

Tickets available via Ticketmaster.

The full Card, in its current state is listed as:

Bellator 179: Main Card:

Welterweight Main Event: Paul Daley (39-14-2) vs. Rory MacDonald (18-4)

Light Heavyweight Feature Bout: Liam McGeary (12-1) vs. Linton Vassell (17-5)

Heavyweight Feature Bout: Cheick Kongo (26-10-2) vs. Augusto Sakai (9-0-1)

Preliminary Card:

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Jay Dods (6-0) vs. Alfie Davis (6-1)

Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Dan Konecke (6-9-1) vs. Stav Economou (17-5)

Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Neil Grove (12-8) vs. Lukasz Parobiec (12-6)

Flyweight Preliminary Bout: Jamie Powell (6-1) vs. Amir Albazi (8-0)

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Umer Kayani (4-3) vs. Nathan Jones (10-5)

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Dan Vinni (14-14) vs. Alex Lohore (10-1)

Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Liam Etebar (6-1) vs. Rafal Cejra Cejrowski (2-0)

Catchweight Preliminary Bout (150 lbs.): Jeremy Petley (10-8) vs. Chase Morton (6-3)

Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Marcin Prostko (4-5) vs. Mike Shipman (9-1)

Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Salih Kulucan (4-5) vs. Diego Barbosa (3-0)

Jake Bulger

Jake started martial arts training as a child with Ishin-Ryu Karate, he enjoyed martial arts movies and was particularly intrigued by Bruce Lee. As well as a keen interest in film, which he studied at university, Jake also has a true cultural interest in all things martial arts and particularly enjoys the history of original Okinawan Karate. His training has since involved boxing and several other styles, he currently practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a big fan of MMA.

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