Sparks were flying at today’s weigh-ins ahead of Bellator MMA’s UK debut in London, England tomorrow night at the O2 Arena.
With a world title shot against champion Andrey Koreshkov in the offering for the winner of the main event, welterweight rivals Paul Daley and Douglas Lima had to be separated on the scales. Thankfully former world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis was on hand to ensure the opening round was put on hold until tomorrow.
The Bellator 158 card also includes flashy striker Michael ‘Venom’ Page, ex-UFC stars Matt Mitrione and Francis Carmont. Whilst the latest prodigy out of Conor McGregor’s SBG Ireland camp in Dublin, James Gallagher, makes his Bellator debut.
Two fighters initially failed to make weight at Café De Paris in Leicester Square. Gallagher’s opponent Mike Cutting was more than two pound over, whilst Manuel Garcia – scheduled to face UK MMA pioneer Alex Reid – missed the middleweight mark by 0.9lb. However, Garcia did return later to tip the scales inside the 186lb limit (185.7lb).
Here’s a comprehensive list of tomorrow night’s Bellator 158 card including today’s official weights:
Bellator 158 Main Card
Douglas Lima (170.8lb) vs. Paul Daley (170.8lb)
Matt Mitrione (256.5lb) vs. Oli Thompson (234.8lb)
Michael Page (169.8lb) vs. Evangelista Santos (170lb)
Lukasz Klinger (204.9lb) vs. Francis Carmont (205.3lb)
James Gallagher (144.7lb) vs. Mike Cutting (148.3lb) *
* over by 2.3lb
Prelims
Neil Grove (266.8lb) vs. James Mulheron (244.7lb)
Michael Shipman (185.9lb) vs. Dom Clark (185.4lb)
Pietro Menga (124.7lb) vs. Spencer Hewitt (125.5lb)
Luiz Tosta (135.6lb) vs. Dean Garnett (135.7lb)
Jason Radcliffe (185.3lb) vs. Jack Mason (185.2lb)
Chase Morton (145.1lb) vs. Nathaniel Wood (145.3lb)
Alex Reid (183.1lb) vs. Manuel Garcia (186.9lb) *
C.J. Meeks (185.1lb) vs. Danny Mitchell (185.7lb)
* over by 0.9lbs – returned to weigh-in at 185.7lb later.
Bellator 158 takes place at London’s O2 Arena tomorrow. Tickets are still available to purchase whilst armchair fans worldwide should check local listings for start times on Spike TV. British fans can watch the action on Spike UK before turning over to Channel 5 for the main card.
