2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of
Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...
, a
mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015.
Background
In June 2014, Founder and CEO
Bjorn Rebney
Bjorn Rebney is an American businessman who served as chairman and chief executive officer of Bellator MMA from 2008 until June 2014.
Background
Rebney attended Ohio University on a football scholarship and then attended law school. Rebney d ...
parted with the company. Former
Strikeforce
Strike Force may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game
*'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game
*'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game
*''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
founder
Scott Coker was announced as the new President of Bellator MMA. Beginning this year, Bellator would drop its original, weekly, seasonal tournament format and adopt a traditional monthly schedule.
2015 would also see a collaboration between Bellator and kickboxing promotion
Glory, both of which aired fight cards on
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
. Announced in June,
Bellator MMA & Glory: Dynamite 1 (or Bellator 142: Dynamite 1) was broadcast live on September 19.
Bellator 132
Bellator 132: Pitbull vs. Straus 2 took place January 16, 2015 at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
A
Bellator Featherweight World Championship
Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class.
At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded B ...
rematch between
Patrício Pitbull and
Daniel Straus headlined the event. The two originally met in a closely contested fight at
Bellator 45
2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feather ...
on May 21, 2011, with Pitbull winning the bout via unanimous decision.
Results
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
Bellator 133
Bellator 133: Shlemenko vs. Manhoef took place February 13, 2015 at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
This event was headlined with a bout between former Bellator Middleweight Champion Alexander Shlemenko and Melvin Manhoef.
Results
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Postliminary Card (Dark Bouts)
, -
Bellator 134
Bellator 134: Newton vs. McGeary took place February 27, 2015 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event aired live during prime time on Spike TV, and was followed up with an encore of the entire event.
Background
The main card of Bellator 134 was announced on the air during
Bellator 131
2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV.
The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...
. President Scott Coker announced the main card fights would feature fighters representing the United States taking on fighters representing the United Kingdom.
The event was headlined by a Light Heavyweight Championship match between current champion Emanuel Newton and
Bellator 2014 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner Liam McGeary.
Douglas Lima was originally scheduled to defend his Welterweight title against
Paul Daley on this card. However, in early January 2015, he pulled out of the bout due to an injury.
Michael Page
Michael Jerome Reece-Pagewkaassociation.com, Retrieved 28 August 2017. (born 7 April 1987) is a British Kickboxing, kickboxer, Boxing, boxer, and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is recognised in the MMA community for his unortho ...
was expected to face
Curtis Millender but withdrew due to a cut over his left eye and was replaced by
Brennan Ward
Brennan Ward (born June 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2008, Ward formerly competed for CES MMA and was the Bellator Season Nine Middleweight Tourna ...
. As a result of the move, Ward's original opponent,
Jesse Juarez, was pulled from the card altogether.
Results
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
Bellator 135
Bellator 135: Warren vs. Galvao 2 took March 27, 2015 at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
This event headlined the Bellator Bantamweight Championship between champion Joe Warren and challenger Marcos Galvao.
Mike Richman was expected to face
Eduardo Dantas
Eduardo Dantas (born 3 February 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Dantas mostly fought for the Bellator MMA where he was the former two-ti ...
but forced out by injury. As a result, L.C. Davis vs. Hideo Tokoro elevated to the co-main event.
Results
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
Bellator 136
Bellator 136: Brooks vs. Jansen took place on April 10, 2015 at Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
This event was headlined by Lightweight Championship match between current champion
Will Brooks and Season 7 Lightweight Tournament Winner
Dave Jansen.
The co-main event was a middleweight fight between longtime kickboxer
Joe Schilling and
Rafael Carvalho
Rafael Carvalho de Souza (born 27 July 1986) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions of Bellator MMA, where he was a former Bellator Middleweight World Champion. As o ...
.
Results
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Postliminary Card (Dark Bouts)
, -
Bellator 137
Bellator 137: Halsey vs. Grove took place May 15, 2015 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event was expected to be headlined by a
Bellator Middleweight Championship
Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class.
At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded ...
bout between then champion
Brandon Halsey
Brandon Halsey (born September 16, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed fo ...
and
UFC veteran
Kendall Grove. However, Halsey came in overweight at the weigh-ins, weighing in at 188.1 lb. This prompted Bellator to create a stipulation that if Halsey won the bout, the championship would be vacated. If Grove won the bout, he would become the undisputed champion.
The co-main event featured a
Bellator Bantamweight Championship title eliminator bout between former champion
Eduardo Dantas
Eduardo Dantas (born 3 February 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Dantas mostly fought for the Bellator MMA where he was the former two-ti ...
and
Mike Richman. This bout was briefly in jeopardy as Richman missed weight and Dantas agreed for the fight to continue under the condition that Richman wouldn't weight more than 147 pounds on fight night, but Richman declined. However, both fighters' camps agreed to new stipulations the day of the fight.
A.J. Matthews
A.J. Matthews (born January 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed for Bellator MMA, Strikeforce, RIZIN, and King of the Cage.
Mixed ma ...
was expected to face Ben Reiter at the event. However, Matthews was forced out of the bout and was replaced by
Strikeforce
Strike Force may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game
*'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game
*'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game
*''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
and UFC veteran
Benji Radach.
Results
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Postliminary Card (Dark Bouts)
, -
Bellator 138
Bellator 138: Unfinished Business took place on June 19, 2015 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri and was broadcast live in prime time on Spike TV, attracting an average 1.7 million viewers.
Background
The event was headlined by a heavyweight bout between
combat sports veterans
Kimbo Slice and
Ken Shamrock. The two were originally expected to fight on October 4, 2008 at the
BankAtlantic Center in
Sunrise, Florida
Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335.
Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...
as part of
CBS' ''Saturday Night Fights'' at
EliteXC: Heat. However, Shamrock received a cut to the left eye during a warm-up only hours before the fight was to take place. That bout was eventually rescheduled for this event.
The co-main event was originally expected to feature a
Bellator Featherweight Championship bout between current champion
Patrício Freire and former
WSOF Featherweight champion Georgi Karakhanyan. However, Karakhanyan was forced out of the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Season 10 Featherweight Tournament winner
Daniel Weichel
Daniel Weichel (born November 22, 1984) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, he has also competed in M-1 Global and Shooto. As of November 22, 2022, he i ...
.
Bobby Lashley was originally scheduled to face
James Thompson at this event. However, on June 10, it was announced that Thompson pulled out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by
Dan Charles
Dan Charles (born September 24, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has competed for Bellator MMA and Absolute Championship Berkut.
Background
Bor ...
.
Bellator 138 was the highest rated Bellator event to date before Bellator 149. It did an average of 1.6 million viewers for the whole event and a peak of 2.4 million during the Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock fight with a DVR peak of 2.9 million. The previous high was Bellator 131 which did 1.2 million average for the entire event and a peak of 2 million during the Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar fight and a DVR peak of 2.2 million.
Results
, -
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Postliminary Card (Dark Bouts)
, -
Bellator 139
Bellator 139: Kongo vs. Volkov took place June 26, 2015 at Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Kansas. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
This event was headlined by a heavyweight bout between
UFC veteran
Cheick Kongo and former Bellator Heavyweight Champion
Alexander Volkov. It was also
Hisaki Kato's Bellator Debut.
Results
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Postliminary Card (Dark Bouts)
, -
Bellator 140
Bellator 140: Lima vs. Koreshkov took place July 17, 2015 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
This event was headlined by a Welterweight Championship fight between current champion
Douglas Lima and two-time tournament winner
Andrey Koreshkov.
Results
, -
! colspan="8" style="background-color: #ccf; color: #000080; text-align: center;" , Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
, -
Bellator 141
Bellator 141: Guillard vs. Girtz took place August 28, 2015 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between debuting
UFC veteran
Melvin Guillard and
Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...
veteran
Brandon Girtz
Brandon Girtz (born March 6, 1985) is an People of the United States, American Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2008, Girtz has fought in Bellator MMA, Bellator and King of the Cage.
Background
Girtz was ...
.
Results
Bellator 142
Bellator 143
Bellator 143: Warren vs. Davis took place on September 25, 2015 at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event was headlined by a bantamweight bout between former
Bellator Bantamweight champion
Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class.
At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded B ...
Joe Warren and
WEC veteran
LC Davis
La Carvas Rashad Davis (born October 28, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Davis has also formerly competed for the Quad Cities ...
.
Ryan Couture was scheduled to face Nick Gonzalez on this card. However, Gonzalez weighed in at 172.75 pounds, over sixteen pounds past the lightweight limit, and the fight was cancelled.
Results
Bellator 144
Bellator 144: Halsey vs. Carvalho took place October 23, 2015 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The main event featured a vacant
Bellator Middleweight Championship
Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class.
At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded ...
bout between undefeated former champion
Brandon Halsey
Brandon Halsey (born September 16, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed fo ...
and top contender
Rafael Carvalho
Rafael Carvalho de Souza (born 27 July 1986) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions of Bellator MMA, where he was a former Bellator Middleweight World Champion. As o ...
.
Results
Bellator 145
Bellator 145: Vengeance took place November 6, 2015 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event was headlined by a Featherweight Championship trilogy fight between current champion
Patrício Freire and former champion
Daniel Mason-Straus.
The co-main event featured a Lightweight Championship fight between current champion
Will Brooks and Season 10 Lightweight Tournament winner
Marcin Held.
Michael Chandler rematched
David Rickels, whom he knocked out at Bellator 97 in July 2013.
Bobby Lashley looked to avenge a contentious May 2012
Super Fight League decision loss to
James Thompson.
Results
Bellator 146
Bellator 146: Kato vs. Manhoef took place November 20, 2015 at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Background
The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between
Hisaki Kato and
Strikeforce
Strike Force may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game
*'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game
*'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game
*''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
veteran Melvin Manhoef.
Results
Bellator 147
Bellator 147: Thomson vs. Villaseca took place December 4, 2015 at San Jose State University in San Jose, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV.
Results
References
External links
Bellator
{{Bellator Tournament Events
2015 in mixed martial arts
Bellator MMA events