Genre Sports Country of origin United States Original network Spike | Created by Bjorn Rebney Running time 120 minutes Original release January 21, 2017 – TBA | |
2017 will be the ninth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. This year will mark the third time that Bellator MMA has done monthly shows as opposed to a seasonal format.
Contents
Bellator 170
Bellator 170: Ortiz vs. Sonnen took place on January 21, 2017 at the The Forum in Inglewood, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
On October 18, 2016, it was announced that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and UFC veteran Chael Sonnen would headline this event. Sonnen owns career wins over the likes of Yushin Okami, Nate Marquardt, Brian Stann, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua and the current UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping. Ortiz is a UFC Hall of Famer and one of the most decorated champions in UFC history. "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" signed with Bellator in 2013 and has gone 2-1 with the promotion. He has wins over the likes of Alexander Shlemenko, Stephan Bonnar, Wanderlei Silva, Ken Shamrock and Forrest Griffin.
A women's bout between Rebecca Ruth and Colleen Schneider was initially announced for this card. However, the bout never came to fruition for undisclosed reasons and Ruth was replaced by Chrissie Daniels
Results
Bellator 171
Bellator 171: Guillard vs. Njokuani was held on January 27, 2017 at the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Kansas. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event was headlined by catchweight at 179 pounds bout between UFC veteran Melvin Guillard and Chidi Njokuani.
The co-main event featured a lightweight bout between local favorite David Rickels and Aaron Derrow.
Additionally, prospects and former collegiate heavyweight wrestling stars Jarod Trice and Tyrell Fortune were featured on the undercard. Trice, a three-time All-American wrestler at Central Michigan University, faced Kevin Woltkamp. Fortune, a former NCAA Division 2 champion, faced Will Johnson.
Results
Bellator 172
Bellator 172: Thomson vs. Pitbull aired on Saturday, February 18, 2017 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event was scheduled to be headlined by heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko against former UFC veteran Matt Mitrione. Emelianenko retired in 2012, but ultimately returned to the sport in 2015. This will be Emelianenko's first fight in the U.S. since 2011. Mitrione, a 38-year-old former NFL player has scored back-to-back knockout victories since joining Bellator over Carl Seumanutafa and Oli Thompson. Hours before the event, the fight was cancelled due to Mitrione becoming ill. As a result, Josh Thomson vs. Patricky Freire was moved up to the main event.
Results
Bellator 173
Bellator 173: McGeary vs. McDermott was held on February 24, 2017 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event was originally scheduled to be headlined by a bout between Liam McGeary and Chris Fields. However, on February 20, it was announced that Fields had to withdraw from the match due to injury. The initial replacement for Fields was announced as Bellator newcomer Vladimir Filipovic. However, Filipovic also was pulled from the bout due to visa issues. McGeary eventually faced Bellator newcomer Brett McDermott.
The event was a dual promotion event as Bellator's card was co-promoted with BAMMA 28.
Results
Bellator 174
Bellator 174: Coenen vs. Budd will be held on March 3, 2017 at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The event will air live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The main event is scheduled to be Marloes Coenen versus Julia Budd for the inaugural Bellator women's featherweight title.
Kendall Grove was originally scheduled to face Chris Honeycutt at this event. However, Honeycutt was removed from the bout on February 28 and replaced by three-time UFC veteran and Bellator newcomer Mike Rhodes.
Official fight card
Bellator 175
Bellator 175: Rampage vs. King Mo 2 will be held on March 31, 2017 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The event will air live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event will be headlined by Heavyweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson against former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Muhammed Lawal.
Official fight card
Bellator 176
Bellator 176: Carvalho vs. Manhoef is scheduled to take place on April 8, 2017 at the Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy. The event will air on Spike TV.
Background A Middleweight world title fight pitting Rafael Carvalho against Melvin Manhoef will serve as the main event of Bellator 176.
The event was announced by the company in February 2017. It will be the second time Bellator MMA has held an event at the Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy. Like the previous card, this event will feature both MMA and kickboxing bouts.
Fight card
Bellator 177
Bellator 177: Dantas vs. Caldwell is scheduled to take place on April 14, 2017 at Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary . The event will air on Spike TV.
Background
Bellator is returning to Hungary with a bantamweight world title fight pitting Eduardo Dantas against Darrion Caldwell serving as the main event of Bellator 177. this event will feature both MMA and kickboxing bouts.
In addition, Bellator Kickboxing 6 will be headlined by a welterweight world title rematch featuring Zoltan Laszak against Karim Ghajji.
Fight card
Bellator 178
Bellator 178: Straus vs. Pitbull 4 is scheduled to take place on April 21, 2017 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut . The event will air on Spike TV.
Background
Bellator is returning to Mohegan Sun with a featherweight world title fight pitting Daniel Straus against Patricio Pitbull serving as the main event of Bellator 178.
Straus and “Pitbull” have fought three times before, with Pitbull winning two.
Fight card
Bellator 179
Bellator 179: Daley vs. MacDonald is scheduled to take place on May 19, 2017 at the SSE Arena in London, England. The event will air on Spike TV.
Background
Bellator is returning to London with a welterweight fight pitting Paul Daley against Rory MacDonald serving as the main event of Bellator 179.
Fight card