Bellator 126 Finalized With 11 Bouts

A storm is heading to Phoenix as Alexander Shlemenko will return to the Bellator cage on Friday, September 26th to defend his Bellator middleweight title against Brandon Halsey live on Spike TV from Grand Canyon University Arena. The event will also feature the Bellator Lightweight Tournament Final and a full preliminary card.

Former heavyweight tournament finalist Ryan Martinez will kick-off the Spike.com portion of the night in a fight against Nick Rossborough. In a battle of heavy-hitters, Rossborough is ready to grab his first Bellator victory, but will have to hold off the powerful Martinez who has recorded five KO wins and is looking for the finish on September 26th.

In a face-off of Arizona natives, Jacob Ortiz will fight Clifford Starks in a middleweight bout. After a two-year absence from the cage, Ortiz is anxious to make his mark in front of his home state crowd against Starks, who is coming off of a decision victory in his Bellator debut at Bellator 100.
Hailing from Guam, Joe Taimanglo returns to the Bellator cage to face Michael Parker. The former featherweight semifinalist holds an impressive 19-6 record and has won 10 of his previous 12 fights. Parker has tallied eight of his 11 victories by KO or submission and plans on ending the fight with Taimanglo as quickly as possible in front of the GCU Arena fans.

Making his Bellator debut, Arizona’s own Estevan Payan will fight Derek Campos in a lightweight battle. No stranger to the Bellator cage, Campos has won five of his previous six fights and holds a 3-1 Bellator record. Payan is known for his knockout power and recorded four of his last five victories by KO.

Rounding out the preliminary card will be Phoenix native Larue Burley as he faces fellow Arizona resident Raymond Pina. Dan Charles will meet Stuart Austin in a heavyweight fight and submission ace Brandon Girtz will put his skills to the test against Benny Madrid.

MAIN CARD:
Alexander Shlemenko (50-8) vs. Brandon Halsey (7-0)
Patricky Pitbull (13-5) vs. Marcin Held (19-3)
Thiago Meller (19-5) vs. Bubba Jenkins (6-1)
Mike Richman (15-6) vs. Ed West (18-8)

PRELIMINARY CARD:
Ryan Martinez (10-4) vs. Nick Rossborough (23-18)
Brandon Girtz (10-4) vs. Benny Madrid (7-1)
Derek Campos (14-4) vs. Estevan Payan (14-6)
Stuart Austin (8-0) vs. Dan Charles (7-1)
Michael Parker (11-6) vs. Joe Taimanglo (19-6-1)
Jacob Ortiz (13-4) vs. Clifford Starks (9-2)
Raymond Pina (4-0) vs. Larue Burley (4-0)

* Tickets are on sale now and available at the GCU Arena Box Office, GCUArena.com or Bellator.com.