Nine bouts are now official for Bellator Fighting Championships’ fifth-season debut, as the Chicago-based promotion Monday announced the addition of five preliminary contests to the Sept. 10 card.
Topping the locally sourced undercard will be red-hot featherweight prospect Alexandre “Popo” Bezerra, who will seek his third straight win in Bellator’s circular cage against Pennsylvania’s Scott Heckman. A Brazilian transplant now fighting out Philadelphia, Bezerra (Pictured) recorded sizzling submission wins on back-to-back Bellator cards in June and July. Heckman, meanwhile, has racked up a 7-2 record with five finishes in just 16 months as a professional.
Fourth-season featherweight semifinalist Kenny Foster will make his return against “The Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Andy Main. Foster made waves in March by upsetting NCAA Division I wrestling champ Eric Larkin, but the “Tooth Fairy” has not competed since being submitted by Daniel Straus in April. AMA Fight Club product Main holds a 5-1 record, but his last bout ended in a no-contest when he ate an illegal knee from current UFC signee Felipe Arantes in April.
Rounding out the undercard will be a welterweight bout between Bellator sophomores Giedrius Karavackas and LeVon Maynard, a heavyweight tilt pitting unbeaten Azunna Anyanwu against J.A. Dudley, and a featherweight matchup between Brylan VanArtsdalen and Joel Roberts.