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FIGHT ODDS

Mike Richman, Akop Stepanyan Paired for Spike TV’s Bellator PPV Undercard

Mike WhitmanOct 15, 2013
Mike Richman will be back in the Bellator cage next month. | Keith Mills/Sherdog.com


A featherweight bout between Mike Richman and Akop Stepanyan has been booked for Bellator’s Nov. 2 pay-per-view undercard.

The fight will be part of the Spike TV broadcast immediately preceding the pay-per-view, joining the welterweight finals of “Fight Master: Bellator MMA.” The event takes place at Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif., and the evening’s pay-per-view offering is topped by a light heavyweight showdown between former UFC champions Tito Ortiz and Quinton Jackson.

Richman, 28, has used a powerful boxing attack to earn a Bellator record of 4-2, though “The Marine” has thus far come up short in two tournament bids. The southpaw most recently saw his Season 8 tournament run ended by Magomedrasul Khasbulaev, who edged Richman in a close unanimous decision victory in the April 4 tournament finals.

Stepanyan has faltered in three tournament tries, first suffering losses in the Season 7 and 8 brackets at the hands of ex-IFL champion Wagnney Fabiano and former Sengoku ruler Marlon Sandro. Most recently, the hard-hitting Russian was bounced from the Season 9 draw by Justin Wilcox, who executing a stunning, second-round comeback to choke out Stepanyan last month at Bellator 99.