Bellator Welterweight World Championship Finalists to be Decided at Windy City Landmark

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Bellator Fighting Championships continues its 12 week nationwide world championship series with its seventh event taking place at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom on May 15, 2009. The Chicago event will send two warriors to the finals of Bellator’s Welterweight (170 lbs.) world championships.

Returning from his stunning come-from-behind victory against formerly undefeated Norman Paraisy, former UFC Champion Dave Menne will continue his fight to capture the Bellator Fighting Championships Welterweight world championship title against the Dominican Republic’s pride Omar de la Cruz. And continuing his undefeated assault, phenomenon Lyman Good will clash with Mexican powerhouse Jorge “The Naked Man” Ortiz for a chance to compete for the Bellator World Title in June. All the action will happen live at the Aragon Ballroom Friday, May 15, 2009 and air exclusively on ESPN Deportes on Saturday May 16, 2009.

Bellator VII will award the winning Welterweight warriors with $50,000 each as they move one step closer to the Bellator Welterweight world championships belt and the $100,000 grand prize.

“This Chicago event will be spectacular. We have two single elimination Welterweight world title tournament semi-final bouts, and a collection of very evenly matched special feature fights,” remarked Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney. “In the Bellator World Championship tournament, fighters control their own destiny; they decide who makes it to the world title bout and how much they earn, it’s a magical combination of ability, skill, drive and passion that fuels the fighters in this series.”

Bellator VII on Friday May 15, 2009 will feature two tournament bouts in the Welterweight category and seven undercard matches. Tickets go on sale today at 7pm, Monday Apr. 27, 2009 and are available at the Aragon Ballroom Box Office, Aragon.com, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800.745.3000. Ticket prices will range from $25 to $100. The fight card is detailed below:

Welterweight World Championship Semi-Final Tournament Bouts:
170 lbs. – Dave Menne (43-15-2) vs. Omar de la Cruz (4-1)
170 lbs. – Jorge Ortiz (16-4) vs. Lyman Good (8-0)

Non-Tournament Bouts:
155 lbs. – Troy Gerhart (4-0) vs. Lorenzo Borgomeo (5-1)
HW – Eddie Sanchez (8-3) vs. Jay White (4-5)
155 lbs. – Alonzo Martinez (22-13-1) vs. Victor Meza (9-1)
170 lbs. – Jesse Juarez (9-5) vs. Marcelo Alfaya (10-5)
170 lbs. – Anthony Lapsley (14-4) vs. Ryan Williams (7-4)
170 lbs. – Jacob Volkman (8-0) vs. Kevin Knabjian (10-3-1)
135 lbs. – Kerry Vera (Pro debut) vs. Leslie Smith (4-0)

For more information about Bellator Fighting Championships, visit www.bellator.com. For the Spanish language version of the website, visit Espanol.Bellator.com. Please contact your local cable provider to learn more about viewing Bellator Fighting Championships on ESPN Deportes.

About Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. Bellator’s founders, Bjorn Rebney and Brad Epstein, are experienced fighting sports and entertainment professionals with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production (including Rob Beiner, winner of 12 Emmy awards for sports programming), fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.