Bellator 126: Alexander Shlemenko Headlines in Phoenix, Faces Brandon Halsey

Alexander Shlemenko would probably like to forget his most recent appearance inside a Bellator cage and he will get that chance when he headlines Bellator 126. Bellator 126 takes place on Friday September 26 and will emanate from the Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix. Shlemenko will be defending his middleweight title for the fourth time against undefeated tournament champion, Brandon Halsey.

Shlemenko is coming off of his his first loss in nearly four years. That loss came back in May when Shlemenko moved up to light heavyweight and was submitted by Tito Ortiz. The loss didn’t do much to diminish Shlemenko’s stock amongst hardcore fans as he was likely outweighed by nearly thirty pounds on fight night. Halsey has more than fifty less career fights than the champion, but he certainly has momentum on his side. “Bull” entered Bellator after just two professional fights and has stayed unbeaten in his five fights with the promotion. Most recently he won the Bellator middleweight tournament with a first round armbar over Brett Cooper.

A tournament final will also be featured on the card. In the co-main event Marcin Held and Patricky Pitbull will face off to determine a future title challenger at 155 pounds. Pitbull earned his slot in the finals with wins over former tournament winner, David Rickels, and Derek Campos. Held is still only twenty two years old and will look to earn his first title shot. He got into the finals with wins over Rodrigo Cavalheiro and Derek Anderson and has since defeated Nate Jolly in the meantime.

Rounding out the main card will be Bubba Jenkins facing Bellator newcomer Alejandro Villalobos at featherweight and Mike Richman drops to bantamweight to face former title challenger, Ed West. All four fights on the main card will air live on Spike TV with the prelims airing on Spike.com.