Bellator 61 Main Card Breakdown
Bellator will kick off its Middleweight Tournament at tonight’s Bellator 61 from the Orleans Room Orleans Room at Horseshoe Riverdome in Bossier City, La. The Main Event will feature Miguel Falcao make his Bellator debut as he takes on Norman Paraisy.
Bellator 61 was expected to bring closure to last seasons Heavyweight tournament between Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos but unfortunately the fight was postponed. Their Bellator 59 bout ended in a no contest after Prindle was on the receiving end of a low blow by Santos as he was on his back. Their rematch has been pushed back a week as Prindle was suffering from flu-like symptoms after a tough weight cut.
The Main card for the event will now feature the four opening bouts of this seasons middleweight tournament. Falcao will make his return to fight on US soil after his surprising UFC release back in May of 2011, stemming from 2002 assault charges. He will take on Paraisy, who will be making his 2nd appearance under the Bellator flag. Paraisy suffered his only loss of his career when he was submitted by Dave Menne back in 2009.
Bellator Season 5 middleweight tournament runner-up Vitor Vianna will look to make it back to the finals this season as he takes on fellow season 5 middleweight participant, Brian Rogers, who was also defeated by Alexander Schlemenko in the semi-finals. The highly decorated Vianna, who is a 2-time BJJ World Champion and ADCC Brazillian Trials runner-up, has only suffered two losses in his professional career, one via injury he suffered to Thiago Silva in 2006, and last seasons finals loss to Schlemenko.
The final two fights on the main card will feature Giva Santana vs. Bruno Santos and Vyacheslav Vasilevsky vs. Victor O’Donnell. Both Santos and the highly regarded Russian Vasilevsky will be making their Bellator debuts on tonight’s card. Giva Santana got a taste of the Bellator spotlight when he made his debut at Bellator 53. O’Donnell will look to rebound from a disappointing showing when the former Ultimate Fighter contestant was knocked out of last seasons Middleweight tournament by Brian Rogers.
Bellator 61 will air on MTV2 with the prelim fights being shown on Spike.com
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About the Author (Author Profile)
I was born in New York, but currently reside in PA. Have been following the sport since about 2000, ever since I picked up a few VHS' of the old UFC tournaments. I served on active duty in the Marines and currently serve in the PA Army National Guard. I've been doing sub-wrestling and BJJ for about 2 years and have studied Aikido for 3 years. I enjoy all forms of combat sports, but huge into BJJ tournaments and of course, MMA.Subscribe
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