When Bellator Fighting Championships makes its first trip to Cleveland this month, it will bring with it a fight card for the ages. Former Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez will get his chance at revenge when he takes on top-ranked and world renowned grappler Shinya Aoki in a highly-anticipated rematch more than three years in the making. Additionally, the semifinals of the Season 6 Middleweight and Lightweight Tournaments will take place as Bruno Satnos takes on Ohio native Brian Rogers while Vyacheslav Vasilevsky faces Maiquel Falcao to determine the Bellator Middleweight Finals.
Plus, Lloyd “Cupcake” Woodard takes on former Judo Olympian Rick Hawn and Brent Weedman collides with explosive Brazilian Thiago Michel for spots in the Season 6 Lightweight Finals. Rounding out this ultra-stacked lineup is a loaded preliminary card featuring some of the best talent from the Ohio area. Tickets for the event are on sale and are available through Bellator.com or at the I-X Center Box Office. Tickets are priced from $30-$125.
The card will be highlighted by the return of local fan favorite Jessica Eye as she takes on Anita Rodriguez in a fight that is sure to get the Cleveland crowd pumped. Riding a three-fight win streak, the 25-year-old Eye is determined to prove that she should be considered as one of the top female athletes when she battles Rodriguez in a featured women’s fight.
The night will feature the much anticipated Bellator debut of top light heavyweight Attila Vegh as he battles the once defeated Dan Spohn. An Ohio native, Spohn will look to score the biggest win of his young career when he meets one of the most well-rounded mixed martial artists to step in the Bellator cage at light heavyweight. Vegh, a veteran of over 28 contests, will look to use his experience when the two collide in this light heavyweight showdown.
Another light heavyweight matchup will take place as Finland’s Marcus Vanttinen squares off against fellow Bellator veteran and Independence, Ohio native John Hawk. Vanttinen, who owns a decision victory over Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament competitor Victor O’Donnell, will look to prove why he is talked about as one of the top light heavyweight prospects in the sport when he makes his way to Cleveland.
Bellator 66 will also feature a bout between Cleveland’s Frank Caraballo and Donny “Eagle Eye” Walker. Caraballo fights for the first time since a TKO victory over Dustin Kempf at Bellator 51 last year. He will carry a three-fight winning streak into his meeting with Walker, who enjoyed an undefeated streak for more than two years from 2009 to 2011.
A pair of Ohio fighters will face off in a lightweight clash as Tyler Combs challenges established veteran Jason Dent in front of family and friends at the I-X Center. Dent, who has over 30 fights on his resume, will look to get back on the winning track.
In a local feature bout, Mansfeld, Ohio natives Julian Lane and Joe Heiland will collide in a lightweight fight with bragging rights on the line. Lane, who is undefeated in his young MMA career, has finished all three of his opponents while Heiland, a veteran of seven professional fights, hasn’t tasted defeat since a 2009 loss to Bellator Season 6 Featherweight Tournament participant, Daniel Straus.
