Tonight’s Bellator Fighting Championship 16 event features eight bouts which include four middleweight quarter final fights. The event takes place at the Kansas City Power & Light District in Kansas City, Miss.

The event will be distributed live in prime time by FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. Highlights will air Saturday on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

Tonight’s show is headlined by middleweight fighters Bryan “The Beast” Baker (11-1), a WEC veteran, and Sean “The Destroyer” Loefller (14-3) who is riding a six-fight win streak.

See the full live results for Bellator 16 after the jump.

The full results and match ups for Bellator VXI are as follows:


Tournament bouts

- Middleweight Quarter-Final: Bryan Baker def. Sean Loeffler via TKO (strikes) – R1, 2:43
- Middleweight Quarter-Final: Jared Hess def. Ryan McGivern via submission (guillotine) – R2, 1:54
- Middleweight Quarter-Final: Alexander Shlemenko def. Matt Major via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Middleweight Quarter-Final: Eric Schambari def. Luke Zachrich via submission (side choke) – R1, 3:04

Non-Tournament Bouts

- Brent Weedman def. Rudy Bears via TKO – R1, 4:19
- Danny Tims def. Brian Davidson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Eric Marriott def. Demi Deeds via submission (triangle choke) – R2, 3:02
- Drew Dober def. Nick Nolte via submission (arm triangle) – R1, 4:45

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 29, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships will once again provide a LIVE video stream of its post-fight press conference at Bellator.com tonight following Bellator 16.

The live stream, broadcast from the Kansas City Power & Light District, will begin at approximately 11 p.m. ET (10 p.m. CT), one hour after the conclusion of Bellator’s live Fox Sports Net broadcast.

Fans can participate in the press conference as well by e-mailing questions to info@bellator.com or through Twitter @BellatorMMA during the duration of the broadcast.
The press conference will feature Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney as well as all eight fighters from tonight’s four televised tournament bouts: Bryan “The Beast Baker, Sean “The Destroyer” Loeffler, Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko, Matt Major, Ryan McGivern, Jared Hess, Luke Zachrich and Eric Schambari.

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

Wednesday saw all 16 fighters make weight for tonight’s Bellator Fighting Championship 16 event, which is set to kick off with the middleweight quarter-final bouts of the promotions season-two middleweight tournament.

The weigh-ins, as well as tonight’s show, took place at the Kansas City Live! stage at the Kansas City Power & Light District in Kansas City, Miss. The event will be distributed live in prime time by FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. Highlights will air Saturday on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

Tonight’s show is headlined by middleweights Bryan “The Beast” Baker (11-1), a WEC veteran, and Sean “The Destroyer” Loefller (14-3) who is riding a six-fight win streak

The full weigh-in results include:

Main Card

- Bryan Baker (185.5) vs. Sean Loeffler (186)
- Alexander Shlemenko (184.5) vs. Matt Major (184.25)
- Ryan McGivern (185.25) vs. Jared Hess (185.25)
- Eric Schambari (184) vs. Luke Zachrich (183.5)

Preliminary Card

- Rudy Bears (173) vs. Brent Weedman (170)
- Brian Davidson (136) vs. Danny Tims (135)
- Demi Deeds (161.25) vs. Eric Marriott (160.5)
- Drew Dober (169.75) vs. Nick Nolte (170.75)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 28, 2010) — On the eve of Bellator Fighting Championships’ much-anticipated show at the Kansas City Power & Light District, all 16 fighters competing in tomorrow’s event participated in an official weigh-in earlier this evening.

Bellator 16 will be broadcast live in prime time nationwide on Thursday on FOX Sports Net and during special Bellator highlight shows this Saturday night on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

The card’s Main Event is a first round matchup in Bellator’s eight man-middleweight tournament featuring WEC veteran Bryan “The Beast” Baker (11-1) and Sean “The Destroyer” Loeffler (14-3), a submission artist from Southern California.

The official results of the weigh-in are as follows:

Tournament Card:

Bryan Baker (185.5) versus Sean Loeffler (186) – at 185 lbs.

Alexander Shlemenko (184.5) versus Matt Major (185.25) – at 185 lbs.

Jared Hess (185.25) versus Ryan McGivern (185.25) – at 185 lbs.

Eric Schambari (184) versus Luke Zachrich (183.5) – at 185 lbs.

Local Feature Fight Card:

Rudy Bears (173*) versus Brent Weedman (170) – at 170 lbs.

Danny Tims (135) versus Brian Davidson (136) – at 135 lbs.

Eric Marriott (161.5) versus Demi Deeds (161.25) – at 162 lbs.

Drew Dober (169.75) versus Nick Nolte (170.75) – at 170 lbs.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 28, 2010) — On the eve of Bellator Fighting Championships’ much-anticipated show at the Kansas City Power & Light District, all 16 fighters competing in tomorrow’s event participated in an official weigh-in earlier this evening.

Bellator 16 will be broadcast live in prime time nationwide on Thursday on FOX Sports Net and during special Bellator highlight shows this Saturday night on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

The card’s Main Event is a first round matchup in Bellator’s eight man-middleweight tournament featuring WEC veteran Bryan “The Beast” Baker (11-1) and Sean “The Destroyer” Loeffler (14-3), a submission artist from Southern California.

The official results of the weigh-in are as follows:

Tournament Card:

Bryan Baker (185.5) versus Sean Loeffler (186) – at 185 lbs.

Alexander Shlemenko (184.5) versus Matt Major (185.25) – at 185 lbs.

Jared Hess (185.25) versus Ryan McGivern (185.25) – at 185 lbs.

Eric Schambari (184) versus Luke Zachrich (183.5) – at 185 lbs.

Local Feature Fight Card:

Rudy Bears (173*) versus Brent Weedman (170) – at 170 lbs.

Danny Tims (135) versus Brian Davidson (136) – at 135 lbs.

Eric Marriott (161.5) versus Demi Deeds (161.25) – at 162 lbs.

Drew Dober (169.75) versus Nick Nolte (170.75) – at 170 lbs.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 27, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships and the Kansas City Power & Light District will host a pre-event press conference and fighter weigh-in this Wednesday, April 28th, from the K.C. Live stage at the Kansas City Power & Light District.

All members of the media and all fans are cordially invited to attend.

The event will begin promptly at 8 p.m. and will feature all 16 featured fighters scheduled to compete in Thursday’s night’s nationally-televised Bellator 16 event at the same venue including Bryan “The Beast” Baker, Sean “The Destroyer” Loeffler, Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko, Matt Major, Jared Hess, Ryan McGivern, Eric Schambari and Luke Zachrich as well as eight locally based fighters who will compete in the evening’s Local Featured Fights and Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

In addition, the pre-event press conference and weigh-in will also be streamed LIVE at www.Bellator.com.

Thursday’s event is the first of four exciting, nationally televised “Fight Night Live” Bellator Fighting Championship events to be held at KC Live!

Prior to the fights, fans can also enjoy a special performance by Freedom, a premiere Navy rock band, as part of “Navy Week” being celebrated throughout Kansas City April 26 – April 30, 2010.

FIGHT NIGHT LIVE
BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS DETAILS:

Date: Thursday, April 29, 2010
Time: 4:30 p.m.–“Freedom” Navy Rock Band performs live on Walnut St. Stage
6 p.m.–Doors open to public
7 p.m.–Fights begin (nationally televised)
Location: KC Live! in the Kansas City Power & Light District (on Grand Blvd between 13th Street and Walnut Street)
Event is RAIN or SHINE (in cases of severe weather, check www.powerandlightdistrict.com for details)

For more information, visit Bellator.com or www.powerandlightdistrict.com

CHICAGO, Ill. (March 24, 2010) — Luke Zachrich, a longtime protégé of MMA legend Dan Severn, is the latest addition to Bellator Fighting Championships’ upcoming Season 2 middleweight tournament roster.

Zachrich, a mainstay on the Midwest regional circuit, boasts an overall professional record of 10-1 with four wins coming via TKO and six coming via submission. All but one of the victories have come during the first round.

A native of Bryan, Ohio, he played varsity football at Bowling Green State University before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2005. At around the same time, he began training with Severn, who has notched 92 career wins in the UFC, WEC, PRIDE and countless other promotions over the past 15 years.

“Luke is a great athlete who has learned MMA from great instructors,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He’s another strong addition to our 185 tournament.”

Zachrich is the seventh confirmed participant in eight-man middleweight tournament, joining Bryan “The Beast” Baker, Jared Hess, Sean Loeffler, Matt Major, Ryan McGivern and Eric Schambari. The group boasts a combined overall winning percentage of .838 (78-15).

Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 155 and 170 lbs. during its second season, with the winners in each division being declared No. 1 contenders to the current Bellator champions. Each of Bellator’s 24 Season 2 and 3 events will be broadcast on FOX Sports Net, NBC, Telemundo and The Score sports network in Canada.

Though Zachrich made his pro MMA debut in 2006, he gained his first national notoriety in the spring of 2008 on The Ultimate Fighter where was a member of the team coached by Forrest Griffin. Zachrich defeated 5-1-1 Patrick Schultz in Episode 2, but fell to future UFC signee Dan Cramer in Episode 6. Since leaving TUF, Zachrich is a perfect 3-0.

Recently, in mid-2009, Zachrich left his longtime training camp in Cincinnati (Team George Gurgel) to train full-time in Columbus, Ohio, with Joe Heskett, a former four-time All-American wrestler at Iowa State who is now the assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State. Zachrich also continues to hold periodic training sessions with Severn and noted muay thai coach Dorian Price.

“I’ve been lucky enough to train with some of the best in the world and Bellator is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to show the results of that on the world stage,” Zachrich said. “I love the tournament set-up that Bellator has and the middleweight field is really great—there’s not a bad fighter in it. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. With that said, I wouldn’t be in it if I didn’t think I could win it.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Bellator. For tickets, go to Ticketmaster.com.

CHICAGO, Ill. (February 9, 2010) – Matt Major, the colorful and sometimes-controversial mixed martial artist known for his appearance on the TapouT reality show and his upset victory over UFC veteran Shonie Carter, has signed on to compete in Bellator Fighting Championships’ upcoming Season 2 middleweight tournament.

The 26-year-old Major—who moonlights as a fashion designer—boasts a professional record of 6-1, but says that his “actual record is closer to 20-1 when you include all the fights I’ve taken in clubs and in bars and in people’s basements.” He drew big buzz throughout the MMA world with his 2008 win over Carter in a fight that Sherdog.com described by noting that Major “outclassed a man with 14 times as many professional fights” under his belt.

“Matt has a unique and bigger-than-life persona, but below the personality is a 185 pounder who can really fight,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “If Matt focuses on our upcoming tournament, he’s a very dangerous draw for anyone at 185.”

Major says winning the Season 2 tournament and the chance for a title fight against Lombard is his singular goal now that he has signed with Bellator.

“The real question is: ‘Is Hector Lombard ready for Matt Major?’” Major said. “I’ll tell you right now, if Hector Lombard knows I’m in the tournament, I know he’s worried about it. I want to be a world champion more than anything and I don’t care who I have to fight or what I have to do to get there.”

Before that, though, Major will have to get through three fights in Bellator’s eight-man Season 2 middleweight tournament. Other tournament competitors announced thus far include Eric Schambari and Bryan “The Beast” Baker. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 155, and 170 lbs. The winners in each division will be declared No. 1 contenders to the current roster of champions. All 24 fights in Seasons 2 and 3 will be televised on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo.

Major says he has been “fascinated” by the fight game and martial arts “pretty much since the day I was born.”

“All I ever wanted to do was be the next Jean Claude Van Damme, the next Steven Segal, the next Bruce Lee,” he said. “And now I’m better than all of them. I knew since I was a little kid that I was going to be a great fighter.”

Major was born in Miami, but moved to New Jersey at the age of 8 to live with an aunt after both his mother and father passed away. In high school, he passed up the chance to compete on the school wrestling team, instead opting to take classes in fashion design and merchandising at the local community college. Later, he was accepted at the Art Institute of New York. He studied there and at several other art schools before switching his attention to MMA full-time in his early 20s.

“I’ve trained in every kind of combat you can imagine: I’ve done English boxing, American boxing, Aikido, judo, sword, wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, you name it,” he said. “If the fight ends up on the ground, someone’s gonna get tapped. If it stays standing up, someone’s gonna get hit in the mouth. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Major spent the better part of 2009 training at the famed American Kickboxing Academy is San Jose, Calif. He describes his contract with Bellator as “the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Bellator, I think, is the new face of MMA,” he said. “It’s just a very sophisticated organization and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

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

CHICAGO, Ill. (February 5, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships continued to bolster its roster of Season 2 middleweight tournament fighters today with the signing of 11-1 former WEC standout Bryan “The Beast” Baker.

The 6-foot, 3-inch-tall Baker will be familiar to many Bellator fans thanks to his dominating victory during a special feature fight at Bellator VIII last June. He also boasts wins over UFC veteran Rory Singer (first round KO), TUF’s Jesse Forbes (first round TKO) and a host of WEC veterans.

“The Beast is a dangerous addition to our middleweight tournament,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He caught my eye back at Bellator VIII and I knew then and there that he would make a big impact on our 185-pound challenger tournament.”

Baker is the second confirmed competitor in Bellator’s upcoming eight-man Season 2 middleweight tournament, joining Eric Schambari, who also boasts a near-flawless 11-1 professional record, with his sole loss coming against The Beast. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 155, 170 lbs. during Season 2, which begins April 8th. The winners in each division will be declared No. 1 contenders to the current roster of champions.

The 24-year-old Baker was born and raised in the High Desert of California, where he was a standout high school wrestler. He later earned a black belt in judo and now trains in vale tudo at the Team Wildman gym in Denver.

“I’m a fighter pure and simple … I never really wanted to do anything else,” Baker said. “From my first meal until the time I go to sleep, it’s all about fighting, all about my career.”

Baker says his singular goal is to advance through Bellator’s Season 2 tournament to earn the chance to take on reigning World Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard.

“I put so much effort into my training that it gives me 100 percent confidence that I’m going to win every time,” Baker said. “Lombard has the belt and I’m coming for his belt. I’d say that he better stay on top of his training or else he’s in for a big surprise.”

Each of Bellator’s 24 fights during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed live in prime time on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every Saturday night, late night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @B

CHICAGO, Ill. (January 29, 2010) – In the latest addition to its growing Season 2 fighter roster, Bellator Fighting Championships announced today the acquisition of middleweight and former WEC standout Eric Schambari.

Schambari, who boasts an 11-1 professional record, is in the midst of an unlikely comeback from a career-threatening injury that forced him to sit out all of 2008. He is a perfect 4-0 since his return.

“I watched Bellator last season and I just think it’s a great organization with some really, really talented and exciting fighters,” the 31-year-old Schambari said. “In this business, it’s all about finding the best possible competition and Bellator has some of the best in the world.”

Schambari is the first fighter to be signed to compete in Bellator’s eight-man Season 2 middleweight (185 lbs.) tournament. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 155, and 170 lbs. during Season 2, which begins April 8th. The winners in each division will be declared No. 1 contenders to the current roster of champions.

“Eric is a very talented middleweight with what’s commonly referred to as freak-strength,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Given who our middleweight champion is, that’s a vital attribute to possess. On top of that, the determination Eric’s shown during his comeback from a serious injury is inspirational and shows the kind of heart he has.”

A native of Las Vegas, Schambari was working as a lifeguard at the Bellagio hotel and casino just five years ago when he first decided to pursue MMA as a full-time profession.

“I looked at my life, I was working a casino in Las Vegas, and I thought, ‘There’s something more for me in life than this,’” Schambari recalled. “So I moved to Texas, started training and got my first fight.”

After compiling a perfect 5-0 record in various regional promotions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Schambari moved back to Las Vegas and received an invitation to join the WEC. He won his first two fights under that promotion’s banner and then, in December 2007, lost a controversial split decision—the only loss of his career—to eventual Bellator fighter Bryan “The Beast” Baker.

Shortly thereafter, Schambari sustained a severe training injury and then had an allergic reaction to a medication that, in his own words, “nearly killed me.”

“After all that, I didn’t know if I’d be fighting again,” he admitted. “It was tough.”

Eventually, against the advice of his doctors, he began training again and, after about 14 months, returned to the cage in the best shape of his life. In the nine months since, he’s compiled a perfect 4-0 record with only one fight lasting past the first round.

Schambari says he’s excited to continue to prove himself on the national stage created by Bellator’s landscape-altering TV distribution alliance.

Each of Bellator’s 24 fights during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed live in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every Saturday night, late night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m.