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All good things must come to an end and the same thing can be said about the ninth season of the Bellator Fighting Championships. The season nine finale will conclude with a middleweight title bout between Alexander Shlemenko and Doug Marshall. Also, there will be two tournament finals and the long awaited Bellator debut of longtime UFC veteran Terry Etim.
Kicking off the action is a lightweight division bout as Patrick “Lights Out†Cenoble (9-2-1) competes against Terry Etim (15-5-0). Cenoble is currently winless in Bellator competition, having fought UFC veteran Tony Fryklund to a draw at Bellator 94. Etim will be competing for the first time since his UFC release, which came after a loss to Renee Forte at UFC On Fuel TV VII. The winner of this fight should gain entry into a season ten tournament and it will be Etim getting the victory.
The season nine welterweight tournament finals is up next as Rick “Genghis†Hawn (17-2-0) battles Ron Keslar (11-3-0). Hawn earned his position in the tournament finals with a pair of victories over Herman Terrado and Brent Weedman. Keslar was the upset kid for the tournament, with shocking victories over Luis Melo Jr. and War Machine. Keslar has been the dark horse in the tournament and his stunning ride will come to an end when Hawn wins his second tournament.
Up next is a season nine lightweight tournament finals bout as “Ill†Will Brooks (12-1-0) faces Alexander “Tiger†Sarnavskiy (25-1-0). Brooks was able to call himself a tournament finalist after achieving victories over John Alessio and Saad Awad. Sarnavskiy punched his ticket all the way to the tournament finals with wins coming over Marcus Davis and Ricardo Tirloni. This is the best possible tournament final we could have gotten with the field involved, but it will be Sarnavskiy earning a shot at the gold.
Headlining this card is a Bellator Middleweight Title bout as champion Alexander “Storm†Shlemenko (48-7-0) takes on Doug “The Rhino†Marshall (18-6-0). Shlemenko will be making the second defense of his championship, last defending it against Brett Cooper at Bellator 98. Marshall earned a shot at the title when he won the season eight tournament, defeating Brett Cooper in the finals. This fight should be nothing short of a stand up war, but it will be Shlemenko holding onto the belt in the end.
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