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Curran vs. Pitbull 2 Headlines Bellator 123 on Sept. 5th


Bellator delivers a night of must-see fights for MMA fans featuring some of the most exciting fighters in the sport as Pat Curran, Patricio Pitbull, King Mo, Cheick Kongo & Bobby Lashley return to action on Friday, September 5 from the Mohegan Sun Arena live on Spike TV.

The night will be headlined by a Featherweight Title fight between two of the very best in the sport as reigning Bellator Champion Pat Curran defends his belt against Brazilian striker Patricio Pitbull. The fight has been nearly two years in the making after Curran successfully defeated Pitbull in 2013 with a narrow split decision victory. After Pitbull stormed through the Season 9 Featherweight Tournament, both Pitbull and Curran have engaged in verbal sparring matches via social media that has resulted in one of the most anticipated fights of 2014.

"I've been wanting this rematch with Curran for a long time, and it's finally here," Pitbull said. "I won that first fight, and I should be Bellator Featherweight Champion right now. This time, I'm not going to let it go to the judges. Curran has started to get cocky and he's disrespecting me. He has no idea what I've been through to get to the title."

"Pitbull has been running his mouth a lot lately and everyone is sick of hearing it," Curran said. "I'm ready to shut him up for good. I'm an even better fighter now than I was the first time we fought and I'll show you him how a true champion fights on September 5th."

King Mo returns to the cage after his controversial loss to Rampage Jackson at Bellator 120, as the American Top Team product will square off against New Jersey native Tom DeBlass. DeBlass enters the fight 2-0 in Bellator and is looking for the biggest win of his career against King Mo on September 5th.

"Listen, I respect Mo and I think he's a world class athlete," DeBlass said. "That being said, I know what I'm capable of, and I not only believe that I will win the fight, but I'm going to finish him. Bellator has treated me incredible, and I've been asking for big fights. Mo is the next step to get to my ultimate goal, and I'm not taking it lightly. I'm fighting in a huge fight back on the East Coast for a promotion I love. It doesn't get much better than this."

The main card will be rounded out by the Bellator debut of fan favorite Bobby Lashley, who brings a 10-2 record into the cage while also currently holding the TNA Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. Lashley will square off against Bellator veteran Josh Burns in a heavyweight clash to open the September 5th show live on Spike TV.

The night will also feature a clash of heavyweights as Cheick Kongo returns to the Bellator cage to face the heavy handed Lavar Johnson. Both veterans of the sport, the two giants will engage in a slugfest that should produce fireworks live on Spike TV.

More announcements on the September 5th fight card from Mohegan Sun Arena will be made in the coming weeks.

MAIN CARD:

Bellator Featherweight Title Fight: Pat Curran (20-5) vs. Patricio Pitbull (21-2)
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Fight: Cheick Kongo (21-9) vs. Lavar Johnson (18-9)
Bellator Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: King Mo (12-4) vs. Tom DeBlass (9-2)
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Fight: Bobby Lashley (10-2) vs. Josh Burns (8-7)

Full Bellator 123 Fight Card Finalized for Sept. 5th


Bellator will kick-off its 11th season from Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Casino on Friday, September 5th live on Spike TV. The event will be headlined by the Featherweight Title fight as reigning Bellator Champion Pat Curran defends his belt against Brazilian striker Patricio Pitbull.

The night will also showcase Cheick Kongo, King Mo, the Bellator debut of Bobby Lashley and a full preliminary card. Tickets for the event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com, Bellator.com or by visiting the Mohegan Sun Box Office.

Kicking off the Spike.com portion of the night, will be a battle of heavy hands between Connecticut's own Josh Diekmann and Mike Wesssel. Riding a two-fight win streak, Diekmann has recorded all 14 of his victories by finish, but will put his skills to the test against Wessel, who has recorded eight KO wins, six coming in the first round.

Season 9 Middleweight Tournament winner Brennan Ward is ready to face Tamdan McCrory in front of his home state crowd. The always exciting Ward grabbed his previous four victories with strong finishes and is anxious to step back into the cage and put on an explosive fight for the Mohegan Sun fans and end his fight with McCrory as fast as possible.

Entering the fight on a six-fight win streak, "Filthy" Perry Filkins will battle fan favorite Dan Cramer in a middleweight bout. Having not fought since March of 2013, Cramer is looking to make a statement with his return to the bright lights of Bellator but will have to hold off the powerful punching of Filkins who has won six of his eight victories by knockout.

After a pulling off an exhilarating upset win over Diego Nunes at Mohegan Sun last year, Season 10 Featherweight Semifinalist Matt Bessette returns to the Bellator cage to fight Scott Cleve. Besssette has amassed a 13-5 professional record, but will face a strong opponent in Cleve who has won six of his previous seven fights, five coming by finish.

Looking to make his mark in his Bellator debut, Kin Moy will face Steve Garcia on September 5th. Both with perfect 4-0 records, Garcia is confident heading into the fight after grabbing a 39-second knockout victory in his last fight at Bellator 121.

After a three-year hiatus from the cage, Mark Griffin will put his skills to the test against Mike Mucitelli in a light-heavyweight battle, while fellow Connecticut native Andrew Calandrelli will take on Lucas Cruz.

At only 23-years of age, Brandon Fleming will face Blair Tugman in a bantamweight battle, along with Pete Rogers Jr. vs. Phillipe Martins, and Marvin Maldonado vs. Rico Disciullo rounding out the preliminary card.


The full fight card is listed below:


MAIN CARD:

Featherweight World Title Fight: Patricio Pitbull (21-2) vs. Pat Curran (20-5)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: King Mo Lawal (12-4) vs. Tom DeBlass (9-2)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Josh Burns (8-7) vs. Bobby Lashley (10-2)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Lavar Johnson (18-9) vs. Cheick Kongo (21-9-2)


PRELIMINARY CARD:

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Marvin Maldonado (1-1) vs. Rico Disciullo (2-0)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Steve Garcia (4-0) vs. Kin Moy (4-0)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Mike Wessel (14-7) v s. Josh Diekmann (14-5)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Tamdan McCrory (11-3) vs. Brennan Ward (9-2)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Perry Filkins (8-1) vs. Dan Cramer (10-4)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Mike Mucitelli (6-1) vs. Mark Griffin (3-3-1)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Phillipe Martins (0-1) vs. Pete Rogers Jr. (1-1)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Brandon Fleming (3-2) vs. Blair Tugman (5-5)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Lucas Cruz (7-2) vs. Andrew Calandrelli (6-4)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Scott Cleve (14-4) vs. Matt Bessette (13-5)