The Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Semi-Finals are here
The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City will be the setting for the two most important middleweight clashes of the weekend as the Season 5 Bellator Middleweight Semi-Finals are here. With no competition from the UFC this weekend Bellator 54 is the big show Saturday Night.
Lets take a gander at the two intriguing match ups that remain. The winners move onto the final with a shot at the current Middleweight Champ Hector Lombard on the line.
• Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brian Rogers
Season 2 Bellator Tournament Winner Alexander Shlemenko will attempt to become a 2 time Tournament Champion but first he must dispose of the tough Brian Rogers. Snatching up another $100,000 wouldn’t be too bad either for the Omsk native. Talk about staying busy, the 27-year-old Shlemenko has gone 9-1 since 2010, his only loss coming to Lombard himself.
Brian Rogers is coming off a very impressive TKO over Victor O’ Donnell back at Bellator 50. He didn’t hesitate to go in for the kill after stunning O’ Donnell with a beautiful head kick. The MMA journeyman who has fought for such promotions as Strikeforce and Shine fights will look to make waves Saturday Night by upsetting the Bellator mainstay in Shlemenko.
• Bryan Baker vs. Vitor Vianna
Baker would love nothing more than to have his rematch with Shlemenko. Shlemenko defeated Baker for the Bellator Season 2 Middleweight crown via TKO midway through the very first round. Shlemenko is the only man to finish Baker during his 18 fight career, his only other loss coming via decision to the infamous Chael Sonnen. A rematch between these two would surely be one to hype for the Season 5 Middleweight Final. These are obviously the number 2 and 3 guys in Bellator right behind Hector Lombard. Unless Vitor Vianna has something to say about it.
Vitor Vianna finds himself in a similar situation to that of Brian Rogers. Both coming off debut wins during the Tournament quarterfinals and both matching up against two Bellator vets this weekend in Atlantic City. The Wand Fight Team prospect has the skills needed to make waves in Bellator. Vianna is dangerous wherever the fight goes and has stayed healthy after having to take nearly two years off due to an arm injury that was gifted to him via none other than Thiago Silva (the only man to defeat him) back in ’06.
There is no shortage of story lines here regardless of the outcome of these two Middleweight Semi Final bouts at Bellator 54. The Season 5 Middleweight Tournament Final is currently set for Bellator 58 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. This is of course subject to change.
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