Bellator Fighting Championships Returns to Lake Charles for Bellator 45 With Two Tournament Championship Fights
CHICAGO, Ill. (May 11, 2011) — Louisiana has been a second home to Bellator Fighting Championships, as the promotion has traveled to the Bayou State five times since their debut in 2009. On May 21st, Bellator will travel back to Lake Charles for Bellator 45 from the L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort, LIVE on MTV2.
The event will feature two Bellator Tournament Championship fights, with featherweights Patricio Pitbull and Daniel Straus battling it out in the cage for the overall $100,000 Tournament payday and the right to meet current Bellator Featherweight Champion and self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” Joe Warren for the world title. The night will also feature the conclusion of Bellator’s Light Heavyweight World Championship Tournament, with 2011 Submission of the Year candidate Rich “Rare Breed” Hale taking on the heavy handed Christian M’Pumbu in a fight to crown the first ever Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, along with the three bout tournament check for $100,000.
“L’Auberge du Lac is a spectacular casino resort with a world-class, exciting venue that was a fantastic host to a sold-out Bellator event last year,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The fans on the Gulf Coast are unbelievable, and with two championship fights on May 21st, they’re in for a great show.”
Rounding out the televised card will be the United States debut of fast-rising Brazilian Heavyweight Thiago “Big Monster” Santos taking on Houston-based power puncher Derek Lewis, while French knockout artist Karl “Psycho” Amoussou takes on “Smilin” Sam Alvey in middleweight qualifier action to determine one of the last remaining spots in Bellator’s fall Middleweight Tournament.
The night will also feature a 2007 College Football National Champion, as former LSU Tiger fullback Shawn Jordan will be on the card continuing his mixed martial arts career. Jordan currently holds an impressive 9-2 record, including wins at Bellator 9 and Bellator 18.
The L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort features a state of the art venue in the center of the casino resort that has proven to be a perfect stage for world-class mixed martial arts and Bellator’s unique tournament format.
Tickets for the May 21 are on sale now at Bellator.com and at Ticketmaster.com. Fans must be 21 to enter Event Center.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
