Bellator Heavyweight Tournament: Semi-Final Preview

Bellator Heavyweight Tournament: Semi-Final Preview

By Dan McConnell

The first round of the Bellator World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament has officially been written into the history books. We are getting ever closer to crowning the Bellator Heavyweight champion as we move onto the next stage of the tournament.

Next up is the semi-final of the competition which see’s former UFC Middleweight title contender, Chael ‘The American Gangster’ Sonnen face off against former Pride and Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, once considered the greatest MMA fighter on the planet.

The second match-up of the round is a between former UFC fighters Matt Mitrione, who face off against Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader the current Bellator Light-Heavyweight champion.

The first fights of the tournament saw Chael Sonnen defeat Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson via unanimous decision at Bellator 192 in January 2018, booking the first spot in the next round of the grand prix. In the second fight of the competition Matt Mitrione defeated Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson via majority decision at Bellator 194.

Fedor Emelianenko won the third fight of the first round, he defeated his opponent Frank Mir via TKO punches within 48 seconds of the fight at Bellator 198. Over the weekend Ryan Bader defeated Mohammed Lawal ‘King Mo’ in the first round of their bout via TKO due to punches at Bellator 199.

Bellator President Scott Coker has said the current timeframe for these two fights of the semi-final round of the grand prix would be in late August or September 2018. The location of where the semi final fights have yet to be determined but cities like Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are believed to be the frontrunners.

Who will prove victorious and proceed to the final of the Bellator Heavyweight tournament, the odds say Ryan Bader, but its the heavyweights, one punch can end the fight at any moment.