MICHAEL CHANDLER-PATRICKY ‘PITBULL’ SET TO COLLIDE FOR VACANT LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE IN CO-MAIN EVENT OF ‘BELLATOR: DYNAMITE 2’
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. (May 14, 2016) – The Bellator MMA Lightweight Championship will be up for grabs “Iron” Michael Chandler (14-3) meet Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (16-7) in the co-main event of “Bellator: Dynamite 2” inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on June 24.
The title fight joins a main event that features a 215-pound heavyweight matchup between “Rampage” Jackson (36-11) and Satoshi Ishii (14-5-1), as well as a heavyweight showdown pitting Matt Mitrione (9-5) against Carl “Badwater” Seumanutafa (10-6). Much like the first iteration of Scott Coker’s “Dynamite” series, both a mixed martial arts cage and kickboxing ring will be featured on the arena floor.
The contests make up part of the televised portion of “Bellator: Dynamite 2,” which airs live on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts will stream live on Bellator.com and The Bellator Mobile App. Additional contests will be announced shortly.
Tickets for “Bellator: Dynamite 2” start at just $30 and are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com and the Ford Box Office at Scottrade Center. Doors for the event open at 5 p.m. CT local time, and the first bout is scheduled to take place one hour after.
Chandler will look to replicate the success that he had during his first meeting with Freire at “Bellator 44” in 2011, when he went toe-to-toe with “Pitbull” before walking away with the unanimous decision victory. A 14-fight veteran of Bellator MMA, the 30-year-old lightweight has put together an impressive resume within the promotion, posting an 11-3 record and earning key wins over the likes of: Eddie Alvarez, Dave Rickels (2x), Derek Campos, and Marcin Held. The Missouri native will be making his 2016 debut with the hopes of adding to his current two-fight winning streak.
“Pitbull” has quickly strung together an impressive start to his 2016 campaign, with back-to-back wins over Ryan Couture and Kevin Souza. “Pitbull” most recently headlined the mixed martial arts portion of Bellator MMA’s inaugural event overseas, “Bellator 152: Pitbull vs. Souza” in Torino, Italy, defeating Souza via unanimous decision. The elder “Pitbull” brother will be making his 16th appearance under the Bellator MMA banner, a promotion that he has been loyal to since 2011. The Brazilian slugger eyes a third straight victory when he enters the cage with the hometown boy at Scottrade Center in St. Louis on June 24.
Updated “Bellator: Dynamite 2” Fight Card:
Bellator MMA Heavyweight Main Event: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (36-11) vs. Satoshi Ishii (14-5-1)
Bellator MMA Lightweight World Title Bout: Michael Chandler (14-3) vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (16-7)
Bellator MMA Heavyweight Feature Bout: Matt Mitrione (9-5) vs. Carl Seumanutafa (10-6)
Preliminary Card:
Bellator MMA Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Kevin Engel (5-0) vs. Chel Erwin-Davis (3-1)
Bellator MMA Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Jordan Howard (9-3) vs Justin Robbins (14-17-1)
Bellator MMA Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Joaquin Buckley (5-0) vs Chris Heatherly (9-3-1)
Bellator MMA 130-pound Preliminary Bout: Michelle Royer (1-0) vs Katy Collins (3-1)
Bellator MMA 180-pound Preliminary Bout: Brad Jones (5-4) vs Tyler Claussen (2-0)
Bellator MMA Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Jason Christeson (1-0) vs Jarrod Thomas (0-0)
Bellator MMA Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Lee Burns (2-0) vs. Byron Stevens (0-0)
Bellator MMA Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Steven Mann (11-4) vs. Mike Estus (7-4)
Bellator MMA Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Rashard Lovelace (3-0) vs. Garret Mueller (2-1)
Bellator MMA Strawweight Preliminary Bout: Nikki Smith (1-0) vs. Ashley Cummins (3-3)
Bellator Kickboxing Preliminary Bout: Elmir Kulosman (3-0) vs. Darryl Cobb (2-1)
Bellator Kickboxing Preliminary Bout: Tara Walker (4-3-1) vs. Mimi Kutzin (3-2)
Bellator MMA lightweight champion Will Brooks has been granted his release from the organization.
Bellator MMA decided to terminate Brooks’ current deal and waive all negotiation rights so he can explore options in free agency. Brooks’ deal would have expired on July 15.
“It was very simple,” Coker said. “Will Brooks’ contract is ending, and we made a decision not to renew it. We’re going to give him a full release, so we’re not going to be in the Will Brooks business any longer.”
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