On Thursday, Oct. 2, Bellator MMA hosted the weigh-ins for its 127th event which takes place Friday, Oct. 3, from the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.
In the night’s main event, former featherweight champion Daniel Straus returns to action to face off with Strikeforce veteran Justin Wilcox. Straus has been out of action since March when he lost his belt to Pat Curran via fifth-round submission. The loss snapped a six-fight winning streak for the 30-year-old fighter. Wilcox, meanwhile, has won three of his last four fights. The former bodybuilder most recently defeated Jason Fischer by decision in March. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter has reinvented himself in the 145-pound division after a tough stretch at lightweight.
The main card also features UFC alums Karo Parisyan, Kendall Grove and Rob Emerson. Parisyan will take on Fernando Gonzalez at welterweight, the TUF winner Grove will face off with former Bellator light heavyweight champion Christian M’Pumbu at middleweight, and Rob Emerson looks to continue his recent success at bantamweight against Rafael Silva.
The 11-fight event kicks off Friday with a live stream of the preliminary card on Spike.com beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The four-fight main card airs live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET.
Fernando Gonzalez (172.3)* vs. Karo Parisyan (169.1)
Rob Emerson (134.9) vs. Rafael Silva (137.6)*
Kendall Grove (186) vs. Christian M’Pumbu (184.6)
Shawn Bunch (135.7) vs. David Duran (135.3)
Nick Moghaddam (205.8) vs. Ray Sloan (202.4)
Saad Awad (156.3)* vs. Sergio Rios (155.6)
Malik Merad (203.6) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (205
Keith Berry (185.8) vs. Joe Pacheco (186.2)*
Johnny Cisneros (176.8) vs. Ricky Rainey (177)
Justin Baesman (171) vs. Johnny Mercurio (170.7)
*Gonzalez, Silva, Awad and Pacheco were given two hours to make weight