Bellator is in Uncasville, Conn., this weekend for two fight cards. The first, Bellator 215, takes place Friday night and features a headlining bout between heavyweight contenders Matt Mitrione and Sergei Kharitonov.
Mitrione is coming off the first loss of his Bellator tenure, a lopsided defeat to current two-division champion Ryan Bader. Meanwhile, Kharitonov enters the cage with first-round knockout wins in his two most recent fights with the promotion.
In the co-main event, unbeaten Logan Storley looks to continue his march toward his goal of becoming welterweight champion. Storley, a protege of former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, faces Ion Pascu.
Bellator 215 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMAjunkie.
Here are five reasons to watch the event.
1. Leaving the past behind
The last time we saw Mitrione in the cage, he was dominated by Bader in the semifinala of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix.
“I obviously got (expletive) up there, lost this one,” Mitrione said following the loss at Bellator 207. “I felt like in the middle of it I thought to myself, ‘It’s the perfect time for a Snickers commercial,’ because I wasn’t going anywhere for 15 minutes. That mother(expletive) just rode me like a pony, man. He’s a great wrestler; I’m not. He took advantage of it and did a great job.”
Mitrione (13-6 MMA, 4-1 BMMA), who was a perfect 4-0 with Bellator before that lopsided (30-25, 30-24, 30-25) loss, looks to get back on the winning track when he faces Kharitonov (28-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) at Bellator 215.
Kharitonov had a rough welcome to Bellator. Javy Ayala knocked him out in 16 seconds at Bellator 163. Kharitonov bounced back from that setback with knockout wins over Chase Gormley and Roy Nelson in Bellator while also going 3-0 (with a no contest) in Russia and China.
With the way Mitrione, who is an honorable mention in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, got handled by Bader in their first meeting, it would be a surprise to see him earn a title shot with a win in this bout. If he hopes to get a second shot at Bader, the 40-year-old needs to make a statement here. As for Kharitonov, he’s also probably a few fights away from a title shot, but an impressive win over Mitrione could earn the 38-year-old some consideration depending on how the Bellator 216 battle between Cheick Kongo and Vitaly Minakov turns out.
2. Time to step on the gas
Storley has approximately seven months to achieve his previously stated goal of becoming the Bellator welterweight champion by the time he turns 27. The former four-time All-American wrestler out of the University of Minnesota made that claim in April 2018.
Storley, who’s been a pro since 2015, has flown a bit under the radar during his four-fight stint with Bellator. That might have changed a bit when he showed his developing striking skills in an August TKO win over A.J. Matthews. The win moved Storley’s record to 9-0.
Storley (9-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) faces the much more experienced Pascu (18-9 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) at Bellator 215. Pascu, a pro since 2008, is 0-2 with Bellator with decision losses to Lorenz Larkin and Ed Ruth. Pascu made his MMA debut in 2008 when Storley was still winning state wrestling championships for Webster High School in Minnesota.
Even if Storley doesn’t win (or fight) for the Bellator title in 2019, he is one of the up-and-coming fighters who Bellator has signed over the past few years who looks like he has a bright future with the promotion.
3. How was the recovery?
Former two-time Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas has something to prove when he steps into the cage against Toby Misech. Not only is Dantas mired in the first losing streak of his 11-year MMA career, but he is also making his return from a nasty injury.
Dantas lost his title to Darrion Caldwell in October 2017. In his next fight, he was knocked out by Michael McDonald in 58 seconds. Dantas fell awkwardly on his right ankle after taking a punch from his opponent. The visual was jarring.
“I broke my fibula and put in a plate and seven screws so that it’s very strong and there’s no risk of it breaking again,” Dantas told MMAjunkie about the injury. “I also ruptured three ligaments, so (the doctor) had to stitch them back up. It was a very strong injury. It was really hard on my body.”
While he recovered from that injury, Dantas (20-6 MMA, 10-4 BMMA) had a lot of time to think about his two losses and he spoke to MMAjunkie about what fans can expect when he returns to action against Misech (11-6 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).
“This time and these losses have made me reflect on what I have to do differently,” said Dantas. “This last fight, I was very prepared, and I didn’t fight. There was no fight. It was his day. He landed a punch, and I fell down. The injury happened.
“It was a very tough one for me, but I know in my next fight I’ll combine these two ‘Dudus’: the 2012 one and the 2018 one. The experienced 2018 Dudu with the one from 2012, the fearless Dudu, who’d move forward and go through everyone. That’s my goal now, finding the balance between these two ‘Dudu’s.”
Misech is coming off a December knockout win over Edward Thommes at Bellator 212.
4. Home sweet home
Mohegan Sun Arena has been very good to Mike Kimbel. The Connecticut native fought there twice in 2018 under the Bellator banner. The almost 22-year-old won both of those contests by knockout. His total fight time in those bouts was 69 seconds. His most recent outing ended in six seconds. He knocked out Alex Potts in that bout. The quick stoppage tied Hector Lombard for the fastest KO in promotional history. Lombard held that record since 2010 when he stopped Jay Silva early in the first round.
After his first win, a slam knockout over Geoffrey Then, Kimble broke things down.
“At 135, soon enough when I’m fully grown (at) 145, they cannot touch me,” Kimbel told Bellator commentator Chael Sonnen. “I wouldn’t have went pro if I wasn’t the baddest, most skilled, smart, most articulate fighter in the game right now, and I got more to show you guys.”
Kimble (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) gets a chance to show us what steps he’s taken to improve his still-developing game when he steps into Mohegan Sun Arena for the third time in three fights to meet John Douma (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a bantamweight contest.
Douma is coming off the first loss of his career. The 22-year-old put together a 3-0 run in CES, with three stoppages, before losing to Adam Acquaviva at CES 50 in June.
5. Making a name for himself
Austin Vanderford, who let’s be honest, is best known as Paige VanZant’s husband, signed with Bellator in December. The reason Vanderford is identified as such is partly his fault. After all, he did petition the UFC for a shot with the promotion by referring to himself as “PVZ’s man.”
The UFC gave Vanderford that shot, and he did win his fight on the Dana White’s Contender Series 13 fight card, but his second-round submission win over Angelo Trevino did not get him a contract with the promotion. Instead, Bellator signed Vanderford after he moved his record to 5-0 with a first-round knockout win on a Final Fight Championship card in October.
Vanderford is more than VanZant’s husband. A wrestler since age 5, he won two state wrestling championships in Alaska before winning an NAIA national championship at 184 pounds while wrestling for Southern Oregon University.
Vanderford (6-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) gets the chance to show that he does have skills to hang in the big leagues when he makes his Bellator debut against Cody Jones (6-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a catchweight contest. Jones is on a four-fight winning streak; each of those wins has come by way of first-round stoppage.
For more on Bellator 215, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
