King Mo and Bellator MMA Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader will clash in an opening round bout for the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix in the main event of Bellator 199.
That bout marks the end of the grand prix opening round and Bellator MMA President Scott Coker says when the semi-finals happen, it could be taking place on separate nights.
“If it’s not on the same night, we will make sure that it’s close in proximity of time,” Coker said to MMA Fighting. “Because we want to make sure both fighters have the same amount of rest time. For instance, if we go on a date on a Saturday, if it’s not both on the same card, the following Saturday we might have the other semifinal. Just to make sure there’s not this disparity of one fighter had three months to rest and one fighter had two months to rest. We want to make it as fair as we can.”
One semi-final bout is already set as Fedor Emelianenko will fight Chael Sonnen, but there is no date set yet for that encounter.
Coker also believes the Emelianenko vs. Sonnen fight card could be one of the biggest in the promotions history.
“I think it’s gonna be a big event for us, a big event for the company,” Coker said. “I think it’s gonna be another fight where we’ll deliver great ratings, great digital numbers. I think it’s gonna be a big piece of business for us.”
There are still five fighters left in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix, with those competitors being Fedor Emelianenko, Chael Sonnen, Matt Mitrione, King Mo and Ryan Bader.
