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Following a successful debut on pay-per-view, Bellator MMA is returning for their eleventh season with a loaded line up. The event will be headlined by a rematch for the Bellator Featherweight Title as Pat Curran again defends against Patricio Freire. There is a loaded ten bout preliminary card airing on Spike.com, with a former middleweight title challenger in action.
Kicking off the action is a featherweight division contest as Matt “The Mangler†Bessette (13-5-0) competes against Scott Cleve (14-4-0). Bessette has won four of five fights during his Bellator MMA run, most notably defeating Diego Nunes at Bellator 110. Cleve will be looking to rebound from his first loss in Bellator MMA, which came to Daniel Weichel at Bellator 110. Bessette has already achieved a career making win when he defeated Nunes and his career will continue its upward swing when he defeats Cleve.
We move to the lightweight division for the next bout as Lucas “The Golden Boy†Cruz (7-2-0) is in action against Andrew Calandrelli (6-4-0). Cruz will be making his Bellator MMA debut in this fight, but he has previously fought UFC veteran Rob Font. Calandrelli has won two of three fights under the Bellator MMA banner, but he has only fought once in the last two years. The lack of activity is going to hurt Calandrelli in this one as the more active Cruz will be picking up the victory.
More featherweight division action is on the card next as Brandon “Bad Luck†Fleming (4-2-0) dukes it out with Blair Tugman (5-5-0). Fleming will be returning to Bellator MMA after a two year absence, last competing at Bellator 63 in a winning effort over Pete Roger Jr.. Tugman has only won just one of his last five fights and he has only competed once in the last three years. Fleming has been keeping himself busy when compared to Tugman and he will use that experience to get the win.
Another lightweight division bout is next as Pete “The Heat†Rogers Jr. (1-1-0) stands across the cage from Philipe Martins (0-0-0). Rogers Jr. is looking to build on the momentum of his first pro MMA victory, which came over Franklin Isabel at CES MMA 23. Martins will be making his professional MMA debut in this fight and he did go winless as an amateur. This fight should not be on this card in any fashion, but it will be Rogers Jr. getting his second straight win.
The light heavyweight division will be featured next as Mark Griffin (5-3-1) does battle against “Crazy†Mike Mucitelli (6-1-0-1NC). Griffin has only competed once in the last three years and he is a veteran of the Cage Fighting Xtreme promotion. Mucitelli is a longtime veteran of Bellator MMA and he did compete in the 2014 Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament. Mucitelli may have stumbled in his tournament appearance, but he will rebound to defeat a very inactive Griffin.
Our first middleweight division bout is happening next as Dan “Cosmo†Cramer (10-4-0) clashes with “Filfthy†Perry Filkins (8-1-0). Cramer is returning to action after a year layoff and he has previously competed in two previous Bellator MMA tournaments. Filkins will enter the fight riding a six fight winning streak and he has not lost a fight in over three years. These are two middleweights who are looking for another big fight in the middleweight division and it will be Filkins moving up the ranks with a win.
Even more middleweight division action is next as Tamdan “The Barn Cat†McCrory (11-3-0) stands across the cage from “The Irish Bad Boy†Brennan Ward (9-2-0). McCrory is returning to competition after a five year layoff, last competing at UFC 101 in August 2009. Ward is competing for the first time since losing his title shot to current Bellator MMA Middleweight Champion Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 114. Ward was good enough to get a title shot once before and he will inch closer to another one as he defeats the UFC veteran.
Heavyweight division action is on our plate next as Josh “The Freight Train†Diekmann (14-5-0-1NC) battles Mike “The Juggernaut†Wessel (14-7-0). Diekmann is currently undefeated in Bellator MMA competition, having defeated Parker Porter at Bellator 98. Wessel has only won just one of his last three bouts and he is a former Bellator MMA Heavyweight Tournament participant. Wessel's best time as a competitor is behind him now and that will be proven as Diekmann gets the victory.
Up next is a bantamweight division bout as Steve “Mean Machine†Garcia (4-0-0) takes on Kin “Kong†Moy (5-0-0). Garcia has already competed twice in Bellator MMA, last defeating Cody Walker by knockout at Bellator 121. Moy will be making his Bellator MMA debut in this fight and he is a longtime veteran of the CES MMA promotion. This is a great battle of the undefeated to be on this card and it will be Garcia remaining undefeated in the end.
Headlining this portion of the card is a bantamweight division affair as Rico DiSciullo (2-0-0-1NC) faces Marvin “The Bull Dog†Maldonado (2-1-0-1NC). DiSciullo has already fought Maldonado once, a bout that ended in a no contest at Bellator 110 after illegal strikes to a grounded opponent. Maldonado has competed once since that bout against DiSciullo, which was a win over Theo Desjardin at Premier Fighting Championships 16. Very little has changed between these fighters since that first encounter, but it will be DiSciullo staying undefeated in the end.
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