:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/5130583/cvxejsomdsclitm.20120313232223.0.jpg)
With Bellator 84 and season 7 complete, the company now bids farewell to MTV2. The next time you watch Bellator, it will be on Spike, and it's clear the company is looking to open up their Spike run with a bang. The past few weeks have seen a number of big fight announcements from Bellator. Here are all of those upcoming fights:
January 17
Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn - Lightweight Championship
Pat Curran vs. Patricio Pitbull - Featherweight Championship
Babalu Sobral vs. Mikhail Zayats - Light Heavyweight TournamentJanuary 24
Ben Askren vs. Karl Amoussou - Welterweight Championship
King Mo Lawal vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala - Light Heavyweight TournamentFebruary 7
Maiquel Falcao vs. Alexander Shlemenko - Middleweight Championship
Featherweight tournament quarter-finals
With four title fights already scheduled, plus big Bellator debuts in King Mo and Babalu, this is indeed a terrific start to season 8. All the title fights are intriguing in their own ways, but for me Pitbull vs. Curran is the one to watch. Those are two all action fighters who are among the very best on the entire Bellator roster. I expect their clash to be a fantastic war, and it's a great way to kick off the Spike run.
In addition to these fights, they have announced that the season will include 5 tournaments: Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, and Light Heavyweight. Only the four 205 pound fighters listed above have yet been confirmed for the tournaments.
Finally, look for the two cancelled finals from this season - Shahbulat Shamhalaev vs. Rad Martinez and Marcin Held vs. Dave Jansen - to take place later this season, likely sometime in March.
We'll have much more on what to expect from Bellator on Spike later this week, but for now, suffice it to say that from a matchmaking perspective they are loading the deck, and that should make for a thrilling Spike debut.
Get the latest gear
