Shlemenko-Cooper Slated for Bellator 44
Mike Whitman Apr 5, 2011
A middleweight tilt pitting former title challenger Alexander
Shlemenko (Pictured) and former tournament entrant Brett
Cooper is being targeted for
Bellator 44.
Sherdog.com confirmed the news Tuesday evening with a source close to the event after MMAJunkie.com first reported the bout. Bellator 44 is scheduled to go down May 14 at Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, N.J.
In addition to the Shlemenko-Cooper bout, the event will also feature two more middleweight showdowns, as Bellator champion Hector Lombard locks horns with Falaniko Vitale in a non-title affair, while UFC veteran Jay Silva meets Armand Mrkanovic. Additionally, WEC veteran Anthony Morrison is scheduled to face Bryan Goldsby in a featherweight scrap.
Shlemenko was last seen earning a March 12 victory in Finland after failing to capture the Bellator 185-pound title from Lombard in October. The Russian won Bellator's Season 2 middleweight tournament as part of a six-fight winning streak, besting Matt Major, Jared Hess and Bryan Baker en route to claiming the tournament crown last year.
Now training out of Kings MMA, Cooper is a veteran of IFL competition and holds a 1-1 record inside the Bellator cage. The middleweight has knocked out nine opponents in total and has finished all but two of his fallen foes. Cooper took home perhaps the most significant wins of his five year career in 2007, as the fighter earned back-to-back wins over UFC veterans Jason Von Flue and Rory Markham.
Sherdog.com confirmed the news Tuesday evening with a source close to the event after MMAJunkie.com first reported the bout. Bellator 44 is scheduled to go down May 14 at Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, N.J.
In addition to the Shlemenko-Cooper bout, the event will also feature two more middleweight showdowns, as Bellator champion Hector Lombard locks horns with Falaniko Vitale in a non-title affair, while UFC veteran Jay Silva meets Armand Mrkanovic. Additionally, WEC veteran Anthony Morrison is scheduled to face Bryan Goldsby in a featherweight scrap.
Shlemenko was last seen earning a March 12 victory in Finland after failing to capture the Bellator 185-pound title from Lombard in October. The Russian won Bellator's Season 2 middleweight tournament as part of a six-fight winning streak, besting Matt Major, Jared Hess and Bryan Baker en route to claiming the tournament crown last year.
Now training out of Kings MMA, Cooper is a veteran of IFL competition and holds a 1-1 record inside the Bellator cage. The middleweight has knocked out nine opponents in total and has finished all but two of his fallen foes. Cooper took home perhaps the most significant wins of his five year career in 2007, as the fighter earned back-to-back wins over UFC veterans Jason Von Flue and Rory Markham.
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