BELLATOR 123 WILL START AT 8:00pm ET/PT ON SPIKE TV ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

Special Start Time For Season 11 Premiere

Newport Beach, Calif. (August 11, 2014) - Bellator will kick-off its 11th season from Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Casino on Friday, September 5th at a special start time of 8:00pm ET/PT on Spike TV. Bellator 123 (8:00-10:00pm ET/PT) will be headlined by the Featherweight Title fight as reigning Bellator Champion Pat Curran defends his belt against Brazilian striker Patricio Pitbull. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased via TicketMaster.com: Bellator 123: Curran vs. Pitbull

The following week, Bellator will return to its 9:00-11:00pm ET/PT timeslot.

"MMA fans know that Friday nights are all about great Bellator action on Spike," noted Scott Coker, President, Bellator. "We have a huge night planned for September 5th, and wanted to give fans an opportunity to enjoy what should be a very fun night in Connecticut from Mohegan Sun Casino."

The night will also showcase Cheick Kongo, King Mo, the Bellator debut of Bobby Lashley and a full preliminary card.

Kicking off the Spike.com portion of the night will be a battle of heavy hands between Connecticut's own Josh Diekmann and Mike Wesssel. Riding a two-fight win streak, Diekmann has recorded all 14 of his victories by finish, but will put his skills to the test against Wessel, who has recorded eight KO wins, six coming in the first round.

Season 9 Middleweight Tournament winner Brennan Ward is ready to face Tamdan McCrory in front of his home state crowd. The always exciting Ward grabbed his previous four victories with strong finishes and is anxious to step back into the cage and put on an explosive fight for the Mohegan Sun fans and end his fight with McCrory as fast as possible.

Entering the fight on a six-fight win streak, "Filthy" Perry Filkins will battle fan favorite Dan Cramer in a middleweight bout. Having not fought since March of 2013, Cramer is looking to make a statement with his return to the bright lights of Bellator but will have to hold off the powerful punching of Filkins who has won six of his eight victories by knockout.

After a pulling off an exhilarating upset win over Diego Nunes at Mohegan Sun last year, Season 10 Featherweight Semifinalist Matt Bessette returns to the Bellator cage to fight Scott Cleve. Besssette has amassed a 13-5 professional record, but will face a strong opponent in Cleve who has won six of his previous seven fights, five coming by finish.

Looking to make his mark in his Bellator debut, Kin Moy will face Steve Garcia on September 5th. Both with perfect 4-0 records, Garcia is confident heading into the fight after grabbing a 39-second knockout victory in his last fight at Bellator 121.

After a three-year hiatus from the cage, Mark Griffin will put his skills to the test against Mike Mucitelli in a light-heavyweight battle, while fellow Connecticut native Andrew Calandrelli will take on Lucas Cruz.

At only 23-years of age, Brandon Fleming will face Blair Tugman in a bantamweight battle, along with Pete Rogers Jr. vs. Phillipe Martins, and Marvin Maldonado vs. Rico Disciullo rounding out the preliminary card.

The full fight card is listed below.

MAIN CARD:

Featherweight World Title Fight: Patricio Pitbull (21-2) vs. Pat Curran (20-5)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: King Mo Lawal (12-4) vs. Tom DeBlass (9-2)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Josh Burns (8-7) vs. Bobby Lashley (10-2)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Lavar Johnson (18-9) vs. Cheick Kongo (21-9-2)

PRELIMINARY CARD:

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Marvin Maldonado (1-1) vs. Rico Disciullo (2-0)

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Steve Garcia (4-0) vs. Kin Moy (4-0)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Mike Wessel (14-7) v s. Josh Diekmann (14-5)

Middleweight Feature Fight: Tamdan McCrory (11-3) vs. Brennan Ward (9-2)

Middleweight Feature Fight: Perry Filkins (8-1) vs. Dan Cramer (10-4)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Mike Mucitelli (6-1) vs. Mark Griffin (3-3-1)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Phillipe Martins (0-1) vs. Pete Rogers Jr. (1-1)

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Brandon Fleming (3-2) vs. Blair Tugman (5-5)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Lucas Cruz (7-2) vs. Andrew Calandrelli (6-4)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Scott Cleve (14-4) vs. Matt Bessette (13-5)

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

About Bellator MMA

Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 500 million homes worldwide in over 140 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Newport Beach, California. Bellator's majority owner is entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.

About Spike TV:

Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.