Talent Filled Bellator 56 Card Invades KC’s Memorial Hall Saturday Night

Posted on | October 27, 2011 | No Comments

Two-time University of Missouri National Wrestling Champion Ben Askren Headlines the Night

CHICAGO, Ill. (October 27, 2011) — As Bellator Fighting Championships prepares to invade Memorial Hall in Kansas City on October 29^th, the fight card has been finalized with a number of preliminary fights featuring some explosive local talent sure to make the Kansas City faithful proud. Saturday will also feature the Kansas City return of Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, who puts his title on the line against former UFC veteran and Season 4 Tournament winner Jay Hieron. The Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament also marches on as semifinalists Ron Sparks and Eric Prindle battle it out for a spot in the finals, while Neil “Goliath” Grove takes on Thiago Santos to move one step closer to a title shot against current Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad. The action will be LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX2 beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. CT. First fight will take place at 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com. Tickets for the event can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com and at the Memorial Hall Box Office.

Staying in the Halloween spirit, fans are encouraged to show off their best costumes on fight night as there will be two $500 prizes for best male and female costumes. Winners will be shown LIVE on MTV2 and EPIX2 and will be guests of honor at the Bellator 56 after-party in Memorial Hall after the event. The only way into the highly-anticipated after-party is to buy a ticket to Bellator 56.

A 2008 U.S. Olympian and former ESPY award nominee for Best Collegiate Athlete, Askren, the reigning Bellator Welterweight Champion, will put his title on the line for the first time since capturing the crown at Bellator 33 over then champion Lyman Good. While the fight may be the toughest test of his young MMA career, the University of Missouri product and two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion should feel right at home fighting in Kansas City.

“It’s an unreal feeling knowing I’ll be fighting so close to Mizzou,” said Askren. “It won’t affect me during the fight, I could beat Jay in his living room, but to be able to celebrate with all my friends and family after the win is going to be awesome.”

Missouri native and long-time Bellator veteran Rudy “Bad News” Bears will square off against Kansas resident Marcos Navarro in a welterweight fight, while the undefeated Jeremy Spoon will look to keep his record spotless with a victory over former Featherweight Tournament participant Adam Schindler.

“Kansas City has been a spectacular home for Bellator with huge, loud crowds and incredible fights,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “But, this event Saturday night is the greatest event we’ve ever brought to KC with our partners from MTV.”

Light Heavyweight Dan Spohn will look to keep his momentum going in a scrap with Kelvin Tiller. Spohn left fans stunned with a nine-second knockout victory in his Bellator debut and will be looking for the same result Saturday at Memorial Hall.

St. Louis native and undefeated lightweight E.J. Brooks will take on William De Souza, while Jacob Aiken will battle Jeimeson Saudino in a featherweight affair.

Odessa, Missouri native Owen Evinger will fight Aaron Ely, who is making his Bellator debut and will be looking to impress. The night will round out with Derrick Ruffin battling Daniel Gallemore in a heavyweight fight sure to produce fireworks.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional 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, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.