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The ninth season of Bellator is upon us and the company is putting together a massive card to welcome the fans to the ninth season. The first event of season nine will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between Alexander Shlemenko and Brett Cooper. The preliminary card is loaded with six fights as well, with a lot of up and coming talent looking to get a win on a national stage.
Kicking off the action is a heavyweight division fight as Josh Diekmann (12-5-0) competes against Parker Porter (5-3-0). Diekmann will enter the fight riding a two fight losing streak, but he does hold a victory over UFC veteran Kevin Jordan. Porter will be returning to action after a two year layoff, but has fought UFC veterans Jon Jones and Gabriel Gonzaga. These are two fighters who have fought against top MMA names, but Diekmann has been more active and he will defeat Porter in this one.
Bantamweights will be stepping into the cage next as Glenn Allaire (3-1-0) is in action against Rico DiSciullo (0-0-0). Allaire will be looking to rebound from his first professional MMA defeat, which came to Jason Bennett at a CFX MMA event. DiSciullo will be making his professional MMA debut in this fight, but did win six of nine as an amateur fighter. DiSciullo is making his pro MMA debut against the wrong guy as Allaire will be picking up the win here.
A pair of lightweights will be battling it out next as Matt “The Mangler†Bessette (11-4-0) does battle against Nick Piedmont (8-3-1). Bessette is currently undefeated in Bellator competition, last defeating Paul Barrow by decision at Bellator 81. Piedmont will enter the fight riding a three fight winning streak, which includes a win over Cleber Luciano at Bellator 92. These are two fighters who could be in a future lightweight tournament, but it will be Bessette winning on this night.
More lightweight division action is up next as Andrew Calandrelli (6-3-0) stands across the cage from Ryan Quinn (7-4-1). Calandrelli is currently undefeated in Bellator competition, having defeated both Matt Nice and Eric Brown. Quinn is also undefeated in Bellator competition, most notably defeating Brett Oteri by submission at Bellator 48. Somebody’s streak in Bellator has to go and it will be Quinn remaining undefeated in Bellator competition.
Up next is a middleweight division fight as Brennan “The Irish Bad Boy†Ward (6-1-0) battles Dave “The A-Town Ogre†Vitkay (12-12-1). Ward has won two of three fights under the Bellator banner, with those wins coming over Sam McCoy and Yair Moguel. Vitkay is currently undefeated in Bellator competition, having defeated Jesse Peterson by submission at Bellator 93. Vitkay pulled the upset in his Bellator debut, but it will not happen again as Ward pulls out the victory.
Headlining this portion of the card is a light heavyweight division fight as “Crazy†Mike Mucitelli (5-0-0) faces Jeff “Scary Nickname†Nader (5-5-0). Mucitelli is currently undefeated in Bellator competition, last defeating Brent Dillingham by submission at Bellator 93. Nader has only won one of his last four fights and he has not competed in a fight in well over a full year. Mucitelli looks like a potential breakout star in Bellator and he will show why as he hands Nader another loss.
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