With three fighters having already punched their tickets to the
semifinals, Bellator heavyweight tournament entrants Mike Hayes and
Alexey Oleinik fought for the remaining spot in the main event of
Wednesday's Bellator 26 event.

The opening-round tournament matchup, though, proved a sometimes-slow
and lumbering affair - and one exceptionally difficult to score.

Ultimately, though, Oleinik did just enough to earn a split-decision
victory, which aired live on FOX Sports Net from the Kansas City Power
& Light District in Missouri.

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 24, 2010) – Mike “300″ Hayes came out with his hand raised in victory at Bellator 21 last June at the Bellator Season 2 finale in Hollywood, Fla. Not only did the hard-hitting Washington state-native earn a convincing unanimous decision over South Carolina native Steve Banks during the event, but he was also granted entry into the Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight tournament. While this would normally be viewed as a major achievement for an up-and-coming heavyweight, Hayes was left with a bad taste in his mouth and was admittedly not happy with his performance and inability to finish the fight.

“I was very disappointed with how the fight went down that night, I felt very flat and wasn’t able to stick to my game plan,” said Hayes. “This was my first fight in a large arena and I was caught up in the moment, it won’t happen again.”

Hayes went back to the drawing board after the fight. Returning to the Ring Demon Jiu-Jitsu gym in Redmond, Washington, Hayes decided to focus on his gas tank to prepare for Bellator’s grueling 12-week, eight-man heavyweight tournament. For a guy that was dubbed “300″ by an ex-trainer for the Spartan-like attitude he brings to the gym, this tournament is second nature.

“I have been focusing extremely hard on my cardio and conditioning, I want to be ready for anything in this tournament” said Hayes. “I have also been training my groundwork extensively. I want to be able to take guys down and use my power to finish fights.”

Hayes brings an impressive 12-3-1 professional record to the tournament and is currently riding a four fight win-streak. Hayes will likely have the toughest fight of his career at Bellator 26 this Thursday night at the Kansas City Power & Light District against on of the most feared heavyweight submission fighters in the sport, feared Russian submission specialist Alexey Oleinik (27-5-1). Among the most dangerous heavyweight submission artists in the sport, Oleinik owns 23 submission victories out of an astounding 27 wins.

Hayes would be lying if he stated that he wanted to put his ground game to the test in this fight, explaining, “I will be focusing on one thing, making sure this fight does not go to the ground.”

Hayes and Oleinik will be fighting for the last remaining spot in the Bellator Season 3. With a win Hayes would join undefeated Polish sensation Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski, fast-rising two-time NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Cole Konrad and Neil Grove, fighting out of England by way of South Africa.

Tickets for the event – which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights – are on sale now at ticketmaster.com

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.

Weigh-ins for Thursday's Bellator 26 event took place today, and all of
the night's main-card competitors - including headliners Jose Vega (134
pounds) and Danny Tims (135.5) - successfully made weight for the show.

However, preliminary-card fighters Jeb Chiles and Demetrius Richards
were not at the proceedings and will make their bout official later this
evening.

Bellator 26 takes place Thursday at the Kansas City Power & Light
District in Kansas City, Mo., and the main card airs on FOX Sports Net.

Weigh-ins for Thursday's Bellator 26 event took place today, and all of
the night's main-card competitors - including headliners Jose Vega (134
pounds) and Danny Tims (135.5) - successfully made weight for the show.

However, preliminary-card fighters Jeb Chiles and Demetrius Richards
were not at the proceedings and had to make their bout official after
the evening's official ceremonies.

Bellator 26 takes place Thursday at the Kansas City Power & Light
District in Kansas City, Mo., and the main card airs on FOX Sports Net.

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 24, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that top welterweight prospect Tyler Stinson will have a second shot at Bellator tournament action this Thursday night, officially replacing a non-medically cleared Rory Markham. Stinson will take on Iraq War Veteran Steve Carl in a Season 4 Welterweight Tournament qualifier at Bellator 26, taking place at the Kansas City Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City, MO on Aug. 26th.

Stinson, a Kansas City native himself, has come a long way since winning a Bellator Season 2 open tryout in his hometown earlier this year. This will be the 24 year old’s third appearance under the Bellator banner. He was a late addition to the Season 2 Welterweight Tournament replacing an injured Sean Pierson. Although he lost his quarterfinal match-up with eventual tournament finalist Dan “The Handler” Hornbuckle, he showed tremendous heart and resilience throughout the fight.

“Tyler’s skills and development as a fighter have consistently impressed me. He was preparing for a qualifier scheduled a month from now, but Tyler is always in fighting shape and was totally prepared to take this fight,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Both of these guys have put on great fights for us and I expect nothing different on Thursday night.”

Stinson has gone 2-0 since the loss to Hornbuckle, including a brutal Rear-Naked-Choke victory over Leonardo Pecanha in which he also broke the Brazilian’s jaw at Bellator 22 in Kansas City last June. Stinson brings an impressive 18-6 professional record to the fight with 12 of those victories coming via KO or TKO. A veteran of the Midwestern MMA circuit, Stinson is undaunted by the short notice.

“When I got the call, I was more than ready to jump on the opportunity. I‘ve been having to do short notice my whole career. It’s a good matchup for me,” said Stinson. “My striking is going to come into play and he is going to have a tough time dealing with that.”

Consequently, Stinson’s opponent this Thursday will also be looking to avenge a Season 2 loss to Hornbuckle. Prior to the Season 2 Welterweight Tournament semi-final defeat Carl held an impressive 7 fight win-streak. Carl’s budding mixed martial arts career is just four years old, but he already has notched 10 impressive wins with six victories coming by way of submission.

Carl vs. Stinson will take place at a catch-weight bout of 175 lbs. and has been officially announced as a qualifier for the Season 4 Welterweight Tournament.

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

Tickets for the event – which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights – are on sale now at ticketmaster.com

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.

PRESS RELEASE / CHICAGO, Ill. (August 24, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that top welterweight prospect Tyler Stinson will have a second shot at Bellator tournament action this Thursday night, officially replacing a non-medically cleared Rory Markham. Stinson will take on Iraq War veteran Steve Carl in a Season 4 Welterweight Tournament qualifier at Bellator 26, taking place at the Kansas City Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City, MO on August 26th.

Stinson, a Kansas City native himself, has come a long way since winning a Bellator Season 2 open tryout in his hometown earlier this year. This will be the 24 year old’s third appearance under the Bellator banner. He was a late addition to the Season 2 Welterweight Tournament replacing an injured Sean Pierson. Although he lost his quarterfinal match-up with eventual tournament finalist Dan “The Handler” Hornbuckle, he showed tremendous heart and resilience throughout the fight.

“Tyler’s skills and development as a fighter have consistently impressed me. He was preparing for a qualifier scheduled a month from now, but Tyler is always in fighting shape and was totally prepared to take this fight,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Both of these guys have put on great fights for us and I expect nothing different on Thursday night.”

Stinson has gone 2-0 since the loss to Hornbuckle, including a brutal Rear-Naked-Choke victory over Leonardo Pecanha in which he also broke the Brazilian’s jaw at Bellator 22 in Kansas City last June. Stinson brings an impressive 18-6 professional record to the fight with 12 of those victories coming via KO or TKO. A veteran of the Midwestern MMA circuit, Stinson is undaunted by the short notice.

“When I got the call, I was more than ready to jump on the opportunity. I‘ve been having to do short notice my whole career. It’s a good matchup for me,” said Stinson. “My striking is going to come into play and he is going to have a tough time dealing with that.”

Consequently, Stinson’s opponent this Thursday will also be looking to avenge a Season 2 loss to Hornbuckle. Prior to the Season 2 Welterweight Tournament semi-final defeat Carl held an impressive 7 fight win-streak. Carl’s budding mixed martial arts career is just four years old, but he already has notched 10 impressive wins with six victories coming by way of submission.

Carl vs. Stinson will take place at a catch-weight bout of 175 pounds and has been officially announced as a qualifier for the Season 4 Welterweight Tournament.

Rory Markham is out, and Tyler Stinson is in at Thursday's Bellator 26 event, where he'll meet Steve Carl in a season-four welterweight-tournament qualifier bout.

Bellator officials today announced Markham isn't medically cleared for the fight, which takes place Aug. 26 at the Kansas City Power & Light District in Missouri.

The fight is slated as a 175-pound catchweight affair and is part of the night's FOX Sports Net-televised broadcast.

PRESS RELEASE / CHICAGO, Ill. (August 23, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the “Local Feature Fights” for Bellator 26 taking place in Kansas City, MO. at the Kansas City Power & Light District on August 26th. Headlining the local main event are Kansas City native and Bellator veteran Rudy Bears (11-5), who looks to avenge his 2008 submission loss to Springfield, MO’s own Zak Cummings (10-2).

The Kansas City rivalries continue with KC knockout artist Brian Davidson (5-2) taking on Columbia, MO’s Kevin Croom (1-1) in the Local Co-Main Event. Both Davidson and Croom will be looking for their first Bellator victories, so fans should expect an impressive display.

Springfield native John Ott will take on Brian Imes, with both fighters making their Bellator debuts. The two middleweights square off in a rematch from 2009. In their first meeting, Imes made quick work of Ott with a first round KO.

Rounding out the local card will be Clinton native Jeb Chiles (5-1) facing off against Demetrius “D-MO-Lition” Richards (5-4). Richards will be looking to notch his first win with Bellator after being submitted by Raphael Davis at Bellator 22.

“The Kansas City area features great local talent from the Midwestern MMA circuit,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

In addition to the local fights, Bellator 26’s main card includes:

- An opening round Season 3 Heavyweight fight featuring Mike “300” Hayes (12-3-1) taking on the Ukrainian submission specialist Alexey Oleinik (27-5-1)
- Rivals Jose Vega (8-3) and Danny Tims (9-2) collide in a rubber match with an opening round Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament fight
- Women’s Tournament action featuring the world’s number third-ranked 125 lbs. fighter Irish sensation Aisling Daly (9-0) will put her perfect professional record on the line against the battle-tested 115 pound Lisa Ward (12-5) in a highly anticipated fight
- Season 2 welterweight semi-finalist Steve Carl (12-2) taking on heavy-handed UFC veteran Rory Markham (16-6)

A welterweight bout between scrappy Army veteran Steve Carl and hard-hitting Miletich Martial Arts product Rory Markham is official for the main card of Bellator 26.

Bellator Fighting Championship officials announced the addition to the card earlier today.

Featuring first-round tournament bouts in the heavyweight, bantamweight
and 115-pound female divisions, Bellator 26 takes place Aug. 26 at the
Kansas City Power & Light District in Kansas City, Mo.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 19, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships will bring its thrilling, nationally televised brand of mixed martial arts to the Kansas City Power & Light District for the third time this year during Bellator 26 on Thursday, Aug. 26th.

Tickets for the event are on sale NOW at ticketmaster.com and at The Midland by AMC box office in downtown Kansas City. General admission tickets start at just $20 in advance/$30 at the door. Ringside and Terrace tickets are also available for $100 and $50 respectively.

Bellator 26 will be headlined by opening-round fights in each of Bellator’s three Season 3 tournaments — Heavyweight, Bantamweight and the Women’s World Championship — as well as five other fights featuring top local fighters from the Kansas City area. Fighters will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Power & Light District is a state-of-the-art, open-air, mixed-use entertainment venue in the heart of downtown Kansas City, owned and managed by The Cordish Company. Bellator has previously played to capacity crowds at the venue on April 29th and June 17th.

“We’re extremely excited to be coming back to Kansas City for another event at the Power & Light District,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Our first two trips to K.C. this spring were two of the best events we’ve ever put on. We can’t wait to return on August 26th with three opening-round tournament fights

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