Newport Beach, CA. (August 18th, 2013) – A hand injury has forced former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Christian M’Pumbu off of the September 13th fight card. Originally scheduled to face long-time veteran Vladimir Matyushenko, “The Janitor” will now meet Houston Alexander live on Spike TV. The night will be headlined by a Featherweight Tournament Opening Round fight between Patricio Pitbull and Diego “The Gun” Nunes.
Bellator announces full card for 99th event, replacement for injured M’Pumbu
The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 6 p.m. PST and feature three hours of action on Spike TV, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com with an early start time at 4 p.m. PST. Tickets for the event start at just $50, and can be purchased by visiting Pechanga.com, Bellator.com, or by calling the Pechanga Box Office at 877-711-2946 or visiting between noon and 8 p.m. daily.
Always looking for a finish, Alexander will have his hands full with “The Janitor” live on Spike TV September 13th. Both Matyushenko and Alexander hold impressive victories in their respective careers, including wins over Antonio Nogueira, Tim Boetsch and Keith Jardine. For Alexander, the opportunity to fight inside the Bellator cage was one he couldn’t pass up.
“It’s an honor to be able to fight for an organization like Bellator,” Alexander said. “I always want to take big fights, and Matyushenko is a guy that’s been around this sport since the beginning, and it will be a huge test. I just want to go out there and smash, do what I do best.”
The full fight card for Bellator 99 from Pechanga’s Resort and Casino has been finalized and after a near death experience only eight months ago, Blagoi Ivanov will make a remarkable return to the Bellator cage. Ivanov spent nearly three months in a coma after being involved in an altercation that resulted in a critical injury that severely threatened his life. While nearly losing his battle, Ivanov’s dream has always been to return to the cage and his dream will become reality on September 13th when he faces California’s Manny Lara in a heavyweight battle.
Brazilian prodigy Goiti Yamauchi is bringing his talents to the United States for the first time and will make his Bellator debut against Musa Toliver. At only 20-years old, he holds an impressive 14-1 professional record. Yamauchi is known for his submission tactics and has won 12 of his victories by submission, 10 coming in the first round.
The full fight card is listed below.
MAIN CARD (Spike TV, 6pm PST/9pm EST)
- Bellator Featherweight Tournament Opening Round:Patricio Pitbull (17-2) vs. Diego Nunes (18-4)
- Bellator Heavyweight Feature Fight: Vladimir ‘The Janitor’ Matyushenko (26-7) vs. Houston Alexander (15-9)
- Bellator Featherweight Tournament Opening Round: Shahbulat Shamhalaev (12-2) vs. Akop Stepanyan (13-5)
- Bellator Featherweight Tournament Opening Round: Joe Taimanglo (18-4) vs. Andrew Fisher (12-4)
- Bellator Featherweight Tournament Opening Round: Desmond Green (8-1) vs. Fabricio Guerreiro (17-1)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 4pm PST/8pm EST)
- Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Savio Kosic (4-1) vs. Hector Ramirez (9-5)
- Bantamweight Feature Fight: Derek Loffer (4-1) vs. Mario Navarro (4-3)
- Welterweight Feature Fight: Andy Murad (6-0) vs. Gavin Sterritt (4-1)
- Featherweight Feature Fight: Musa Toliver (9-8) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (14-1)
- Heavyweight Feature Fight: Manny Lara (4-3) vs. Blagoi Ivanov (7-0)
- Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Nick Moghaddam (6-6) vs. Virgil Zwicker (10-3)
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA
About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes worldwide in over 115 countries, Bellator’s majority owner is entertainment giant Viacom. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. With over 150 world-class athletes under contract, Bellator is home to many of the sport’s top mixed martial artists. Bellator’s founder & CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment executive with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator’s core philosophy is that title shots should be earned, not given. This belief gave rise to Bellator’s real sport, tournament-based format, which gives Bellator’s tournaments a true playoff feel that keeps the sport true and distances itself from the subjective side of fighting sports found in organizations that utilize a matchmaking/casting formula. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Newport Beach, California.
