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 Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

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 Scott Coker (born October 3, 1962) is an American mixed martial artist, Taekwondoin, former movie stuntman, and combat sports promoter. He is the founder and former CEO of MMA promotion Strikeforce and the current President of Bellator MMA. Back ...

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 rematch between

Patrício Pitbull Patrício Freire (born July 7, 1987, in Natal, Brazil), known professionally by his ring name Patrício Pitbull, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator MMA where he is the current three-time Bellator Featherweight Ch ...

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 Feathe ...

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 Douglas Lima (born 5 January 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is a former three-time Bellator Welterweight Champion. He is also the former MFC Welterweight Champion. ...

was originally scheduled to defend his Welterweight title against

Paul Daley Paul Anthony Daley (born 21 February 1983) is a British former mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor from 2003 to 2022, Daley competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, Cage Rage, Final Fight Championship, Strikeforce, Elit ...

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 Curtis Marquir Millender (born December 1, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2013, Millender has formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellato ...

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 Tou ...

. As a result of the move, Ward's original opponent,

Jesse Juarez Jesse Juarez (born May 8, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut. A professional competitor since 2006, Juarez has also formerly competed for Strikeforce, Be ...

, 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 Michael Richman (born June 23, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Legacy Fighting Alliance. A professional competitor in mixed martial arts since 2008, Richman has competed for Bellat ...

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 Willie Love Brooks (born October 8, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he is the former Bellator MMA Lightweight World Champion, and has also competed for DR ...

and Season 7 Lightweight Tournament Winner

Dave Jansen David Hendrik Jansen (born August 21, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Jansen has also formerly competed for the WEC and M-1 Global. Backg ...

. The co-main event was a middleweight fight between longtime kickboxer

Joe Schilling Joseph Francis Schilling (born January 13, 1984) is an American professional Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist who most recently competed for Bellator Kickboxing in the Middleweight division, and in the Middleweight division for Bella ...

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 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

veteran

Kendall Grove Kendall Grove (born November 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also competed for the Bellator MMA, UFC, KSW, ProElite, King o ...

. 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

and

. 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 was expected to face Ben Reiter at the event. However, Matthews was forced out of the bout and was replaced by

and UFC veteran

Benji Radach Benji Russell Radach (born April 5, 1979) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the middleweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2001, Radach has also formerly competed for the UFC, th ...

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 sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppon ...

s veterans Kimbo Slice and

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

. The two were originally expected to fight on October 4, 2008 at the

BankAtlantic Center FLA Live Arena (previously known as the National Car Rental Center, Office Depot Center, BankAtlantic Center, and BB&T Center) is an list of indoor arenas, indoor arena located next to Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida. It is the home venue for ...

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 CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

' ''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 Patricio in Spanish, or Patrício in Portuguese, is a male given name equivalent to Patrick in English. The Spanish name is pronounced with the stress on the same first i as Portuguese, but an accent is not needed because this follows normal rul ...

and former WSOF Featherweight champion

Georgi Karakhanyan Georgi Karakhanyan is a Russian-born Armenian-American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Karakhanyan has also formerly competed for the ...

. 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 Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...

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

veteran

Cheick Kongo Cheick Kongo is a French heavyweight Mixed Martial artist and former Kickboxer who fights in Bellator MMA. A professional MMA competitor since 2001, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of May 10, 2022, he is #4 in the ...

and former Bellator Heavyweight Champion Alexander Volkov. It was also

Hisaki Kato is a Japanese-French professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer who most recently competed in Bellator's Middleweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2013, he has also competed for Rizin. Background Born and raised in Pari ...

'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

and two-time tournament winner

Andrey Koreshkov Andrey Andreevich Koreshkov (Russian: Андрей Андреевич Корешков, born August 23, 1990) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of Bellator MMA. He is the former Bellator Welterw ...

. 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

veteran

Melvin Guillard Melvin Paul Guillard, Jr. (born March 30, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. Guillard most notably competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA a ...

and

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 Ryan Duane Couture (born August 27, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2009, he has formerly competed for the UFC and Str ...

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

bout between undefeated former champion

and top contender

. 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

and former champion

Daniel Mason-Straus Daniel Mason-Straus (born July 27, 1984), is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. He previously competed in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Featherweight Champion ...

. The co-main event featured a Lightweight Championship fight between current champion

and Season 10 Lightweight Tournament winner

Marcin Held Marcin Held (born January 18, 1992) is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut, Professional Fighters League, a ...

Michael Chandler Michael Chandler (born April 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, Chandler first gained n ...

rematched

David Rickels David Rickels (born January 5, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle fighter who is currently competing in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional since 2010, he is a 23-fight veteran of the Bell ...

, whom he knocked out at Bellator 97 in July 2013.

looked to avenge a contentious May 2012

Super Fight League Super Fight League is a mixed martial arts promotion, based in India. The organisation was formed in 2012 by actor Sanjay Dutt and British-Indian businessman Raj Kundra, and is currently co-owned by British-Indian businessman Bill Dosanjh and ...

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

and

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