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Bellator Fighting Championships heads back to Canada, as the promotion returns to Casino Rama in Orilla, Ontario for Bellator 67. The night will feature Bellator Lightweight World Champion Michael Chandler squaring off against 32-win MMA veteran and Japanese sensation Akihiro Gono. Also, a Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Semifinal bout between Ben Saunders and Bryan Baker will take place in addition to the return of Polish Heavyweight sensation Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski and the Bellator debut of Canada’s own Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford. Kicking off the night will be a stacked undercard full of the area’s top talent.

Rising welterweight prospect Nordine Taleb will enter the Bellator cage for the second time. Taleb, who is on a six-fight win streak, looks to pick up where he left off with a hard fought decision win over Matt Secor at Bellator 64.

A pair of Ontario natives will clash as Will Romero and Matt Veal meet in a featherweight contest in front of an electric Ontario crowd. Romero, a two-time Bellator veteran with 10 professional fights, meets Veal, an exciting competitor that has only gone to a decision once in 16 bouts.

Bellator 67 will feature the return of Brazilian Muay Thai champion kickboxer turned mixed martial artist Cosmo Alexander as he faces undefeated Lorwant-T Nelson in a lightweight matchup. “Good Boy” will be looking to build off the momentum of his first round knockout victory over Avery McPhatter at Bellator 58 when he steps in the Bellator cage against the 4-0 Nelson, who has stopped each of his opponents inside the allotted three rounds.

Also, Minnesota bantamweight fighter Nick “The Big Hurt” Kirk will look to keep his perfect record intact when he meets Detroit’s David “Bo” Harris in a bantamweight tilt. Harris, a winner of three of his past four fights, will try to score the biggest victory of his career against Kirk at Casino Rama.

The card will be rounded out as Ontario native Nathan Gunn will have the hometown support in the Bellator cage when he takes on fellow welterweight Dom O’Grady in a 170-pound affair. Both men are building impressive win streaks and will look to stay on the right path when they meet up at Bellator 67.

All Bellator 67 main-card competitors made weight for the show at today official fighter weigh-ins. Today's festivities took place at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada. The same venue hosts Friday's Bellator 67 event, which includes a main card on MTV2 and prelims on Spike.com.

Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler (156 pounds) and opponent Akihiro Gona (155.6) both easily made weight for their non-title headliner.

"We're excited to get in there and put on the show," Chandler said. "It's my first time fighting for the Canadian fans, so I'm ready to get in there and do it."

Ben Saunders (171) and Bryan Baker (171), who meet in the night's co-headliner, also made weight for their season-six welterweight-tournament semifinal. The winner advances to the finale and becomes one win away from staking a title shot. Only preliminary-card fighter Will Romero (148.8) failed to make weight on his first attempt. He has an additional two hours to cut to 146 pounds.


The full weigh-in results included:


MAIN CARD (MTV2):

Champ Michael Chandler (156) vs. Akihiro Gono (155.6)
Bryan Baker (171) vs. Ben Saunders (171)
Damian Grabowski (241.4) vs. Dave Huckaba (255.4)
Ryan Ford (169.8) vs. Luis "Sapo" Santos (170)


PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com):

Will Romero (148.8)* vs. Matt Veal (145)
David "Bo" Harris (134.8) vs. Nick Kirk (135.6)
Cosmo Alexander (155) vs. Lorawnt-T Nelson (155)
Matt MacGrath (179.6) vs. Nordine Taleb (179.4) - 180-pound catchweight
Nathan Gunn (169.6) vs. Dom O'Grady (170)


*Has two hours to make the 146-pound limit.

Lightweight World Champ Chandler TKOs Gono, Baker moves to Welterweight Final & Ford KO’s Santos at Bellator 67 from Casino Rama



Reigning Bellator Lightweight World Champion Michael Chandler proved once again how dangerous he is in the cage – and this time he needed only 56 seconds to make his point as the undefeated mixed martial artist crushed proven MMA veteran Akihiro Gono with a big right hand and pounced the seasoned Japanese fighter for the first-round TKO victory Friday night in front of a packed house at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ontario, Canada LIVE on MTV2 and in HD on EPIX. Bryan Baker had a big night as well as the red-hot welterweight now moves onto the finals of the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament with a win against Ben “Killa B” Saunders. Ryan Ford was able to score a huge comeback victory over Bellator veteran Luis “Sapo” Santos, and Damian Grabowski picked up a dominant victory in the night’s other televised bout.

“It was another spectacular night here at Casino Rama,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “The Canadian fans never disappoint and neither does Michael Chandler. With the Fight of the Year submission victory over Eddie Alvarez and now to put away a veteran such as Akihiro Gono in less than one minute, we’re witnessing something truly special. I also can’t say enough about Bryan Baker and Ryan Ford’s performances.”

For undefeated Bellator Lightweight World Champion Michael Chandler, Friday night was an opportunity to build off his epic fight of the year bout with Eddie Alvarez last season and solidify himself as one of the greatest lightweight fighters in the world. In order to do that, he had to take out 18-year MMA veteran, Akihiro Gono (32-18). Almost immediately, Chandler began to stalk Gono, forcing the Japanese fighter to back pedal. As he pushed forward, Chandler landed a brutal straight right hand that put Gono on the mat. Chandler quickly jumped on top of Gono and unleashed vicious strikes that forced the referee stoppage at 56 seconds into the first round.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do, by no means am I complacent,” said Chandler. “I promise you I’m going to be the best lightweight in the world.”

With the TKO win, reigning Bellator Lightweight World Champion Michael Chandler improved his record to 10-0 and will meet the winner of the Rick Hawn vs. Brent Weedman finals match that will take place later this year.

Ben Saunders and Bryan Baker have both been vocal about their disappointment with their previous performances in the quarterfinal round of the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament. Both men were looking to come out and redeem themselves by putting on a dominant performance in front of the fans at Casino Rama. Through three rounds of back-and-forth action, both fighters displayed the crafty skills that have made them fan favorites when competing in the Bellator cage. Saunders, attempted multiple submissions in the first round, nearly finishing a deep triangle, and Baker stifled Saunders’ famous Muay Thai attack on the feet and implemented his devastating ground and pound through the final two rounds. When the final bell sounded, all three judges scored the fight unanimously for Bryan Baker.

“Each fight I’m building more and more,” Baker said. “I’m going to do my homework and be even more ready next time.”

With the unanimous decision victory, Bryan Baker earned the 18th win of his career and will now move to the final round of the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament against the winner of the Karl Amoussou vs. David Rickels matchup later this season. Ben Saunders drops to 13-5-2.

There is no doubt that near-perfect Polish Heavyweight Damian Grabowski was looking to erase the memory of his last performance under the Bellator banner, a decision loss in the Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament semifinals to eventual champion, Cole Konrad. With a combined 21 first round finishes between him and his opponent, Dave Huckaba, many in attendance weren’t expecting a long fight. Instead, both fighters put on a back-and-forth affair that was highlighted by takedowns from Grabowski and counter-strikes from Huckaba. After three rounds, both fighters had to settle for a decision. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 in favor for Damian Grabowski. With the unanimous decision victory, Damian Grabowski moves to 16-1 as a professional while Dave Huckaba, in a losing effort, drops to 17-5 in his Bellator debut.

In a fight that had all the ingredients of being an explosive display of excitement, Bellator newcomer Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford and opponent Luis “Sapo” Santos were expected to bring fireworks when they squared off in front of an electric Canadian crowd. With a combined 52 finishes in 79 fights, both fighters are known for leaving nothing in the hands of the judges. Living up to its billing, the first round featured a head kick by Santos that put Ford on his back, struggling to get to his feet. Though obviously hurt, Ford was able to hang on until the end of the round. In the second, the tables turned. After landing a vicious knee to the head of Santos, Ford was able to drop the Brazilian and finish him off with strikes until the referee stepped in to stop the fight at 1:24 of the second round.

“I knew in the second round I was going to put it on him more,” said Ford. “The first round I was trying to feel him out, but in the second I wanted to put him away.”

With the TKO victory, Ryan Ford improves his record to 18-4 while Luis Santos falls to a respectable 50-8 in his professional career.