As officials feared, a broken orbital bone has forced Mike Hayes (16-4-1 MMA, 2-1 BFC) out of Bellator's current season-five heavyweight tournament.
In his place steps replacement Thiago Santos (9-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC), who now meets Blagoi Ivanov (5-0 MMA, 2-0 BFC) in a semifinal matchup later this month at Bellator 56, officials today announced.
Bellator 56 takes place Oct. 29 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.
The night's main card, including tourney fights of Santos vs. Ivanov and Eric Prindle (8-1 MMA, 2-0 BFC) vs. Ron Sparks (8-0 MMA, 3-0 BFC), airs on MTV2 (and in high-definition on EPIX). The prelims stream on Spike.com.
The Louisiana State Boxing and Wrestling Commission issued Hayes a 60-day suspension following his opening-round win over Neil Grove on Oct. 1. He planned to appeal the suspension, but the injury was too severe for the quick turnaround time needed for the 12-week tournament.
In his place steps Santos, who won a tourney-reserve bout over Josh Burns this past weekend at Bellator 53. Santos initially was slated to compete in the eight-man tourney, but visa issues forced the Brazilian out of the tourney on the eve of the opening round.
The latest Bellator 56 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (MTV2)
Champ Ben Askren vs. Jay Hierson (for welterweight title)
Blagoi Ivanov vs. Thiago Santos (heavyweight-tourney semifinals)
Eric Prindle vs. Ron Sparks (heavyweight-tourney semifinals)
Thiago Santos in Rio Heroes
No comments:
Post a Comment