With no Eddie Alvarez in the upcoming Bellator 155-pound tournament and with no chance at a rematch with current champion Michael Chandler, eight men will take a shot at creating their own fight of the year candidate with the champ starting at March 23rd’s Bellator 62 in Laredo, TX.
Patricky Freire vs. Lloyd Woodard
Freire (10-2, 3-1 Bellator) lost to Chandler by unanimous decision in his first tournament after knockout wins over Rob McCullough and Toby Imada. He returned to the winner’s circle with a first round knockout of Kurt Pellegrino in November and is one of the favorites to win the tourney.
While Woodard (11-1, 1-1 Bellator) isn’t a big name among today’s lightweight crop, his only career loss was to Chandler and he has finished nine of his 11 opponents.
Rick Hawn vs. Ricardo Tirloni
Hawn (11-1, 3-1 Bellator) drops to lightweight for the first time after advancing to the welterweight finals last spring. The U.S. Olympian in judo has shown power in seven T/KO wins, but has had three straight fights go the distance. He faces Tirloni (14-1, 1-0 Bellator), who enters the tournament on an 11-fight win streak. Like many fellow Bellator fighters, the Brazilian is a finisher with 12 victories by submission or T/KO.
Brent Weedman vs. J.J. Ambrose
Weedman (18-7, 4-2 Bellator) is getting an opportunity despite two straight defeats. After winning his first four fights in the promotion, Weedman picked up decision losses to Jay Hieron and Chris Lozano and is dropping to lightweight to help turn it around. Ambrose (17-3-0-1) makes his promotional debut on a seven-fight win streak with nine overall wins by submission.
Rene Nazare vs. Thiago Michel
After running his record to 10-0 amidst a flurry of first round finishes, Nazare (10-1, 3-1 Bellator) was handed his first career loss last October. Despite that, he gets his first tournament opportunity against Michel (9-2), who is making his promotional debut with two straight wins. The Brazilian has finished all of his wins via T/KO and has been submitted in both of his career losses.
The event starts at 8 PM EST on MTV 2.
Other recent Bellator news on BE:
- Zach Makovsky To Defend 135-Pound Title In April
- Report: Eddie Alvarez, Bellator Contract Extension Talk Not Going Well
- Ben Askren Vs. Douglas Lima Set For April 6
- Ben Saunders, Brian Foster headline 170-pound tourney
- Prindle vs. Santos, 185-pound brackets announced
- 145-pound tournament matches announced