Bellator MMA Brings $100,000 Lightweight Tournament Finals to California’s Pechanga Resort & Casino March 7th

Newport Beach, CA. (January 18, 2013) – The stage is set for a Bellator MMA Lightweight Tournament Finals showdown as Dave “The Fugitive” Jansen battles submission ace Marcin Held on March 7^th from California’s Pechanga Resort & Casino. Tickets for the event start at just $40, and can be purchased by visitingPechanga.com, Bellator.com, or by calling the Pechanga Box Office at             877-711-2946       or visiting between noon and 8pm daily.

The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 7 p.m. PST on Spike TV, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 5 p.m. MST.

Only 20 and holding an impressive 15-2 record, polish phenom Marcin Held stormed through the opening rounds of the lightweight tournament, collecting explosive victories over Murad Machaev and longtime MMA veteran Rich Clementi. Known across the MMA landscape as one of the top submission artists in the sport, Held is a victory away from capturing his first Bellator Tournament crown and a guaranteed title shot.

For Jansen, the charismatic lightweight enters the Bellator Finals riding a five fight win streak and is fully prepared for the test that awaits him on March 7^th, in what undoubtedly be the biggest fight of his career.

“I’ve had a lot of time to work on my game plan and really focus on this fight on March 7^th,” Jansen said. “Marcin has the total package when it comes to submissions, so I know what I need to focus on to win this fight, and get a shot at the Bellator title.”

“Pechanga is a gorgeous venue that will be a tremendous partner for us throughout 2013 as we air live every Thursday night on Spike,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney.

“As the largest tournament-based MMA organization in the world, Bellator MMA offers Pechanga guests the adrenaline-fueled fights they demand,” said Pechanga Development Corporation President Patrick Murphy. “We are very excited to be offering up the highly anticipated Jansen vs. Held fight, as well as a host of action packed fights on March 7th.”

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.realcombatmedia.com

Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes worldwide in over 107 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, 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 MMAs’ executive team is comprised of 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.

With the biggest casino in the Western USA, Pechanga offers an all-inclusive AAA Four-Diamond luxury resort in the heart of Southern California’s Wine Country of the Temecula Valley.  Featuring thousands of slots and hundreds of table games, the resort also boasts the top-ranked Journey at Pechanga golf course, a full-service spa, nine award-winning restaurants, superstar concerts in its Theater, a comedy club, world title sporting events, and three clubs and lounges, including Southern California’s largest nightclub, Silk.

Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks.  A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.  Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press.  Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.

mun2 is the leading Hispanic cable network for young millennial adults 18-34.  From reality to music, on-air to digital, mun2 creates original content that resonates across a multi-screen platform.  Young, vibrant and unabashedly Latino, mun2 has a distribution to over 38 million households. The network is part of Telemundo Media, a division of NBCUniversal.