Bellator 158: Weigh in fireworks spice up London debut as James Gallagher and Mike Cutting are separated
Cutting had tipped the scales 2.3lbs overweight and proceeded to say something to Gallagher during their staredown, with the Irishman reacting by pushing Cutting in the chest
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Your support makes all the difference.Bellator MMA will make long awaited debut on UK shores on Saturday when Bellator 158 is hosted at the O2 Arena in London.
Since it was first announced back in March, the card has undergone a significant amount of changes with the shocking death of the legend Kimbo Slice the first in a series of incidents to shake the eventual bout list up.
Shortly after the death of Slice, two other big stars pulled out the card with Josh Koscheck ruling himself out of his big fight with Paul Daley due to a neck injury, and Linton Vassell pulling out of his fight with Francis Carmont due to a cut that he suffered while preparing for fight night just over a week ago.
Despite all the setbacks, Bellator MMA will take the O2 Arena by storm on Saturday night and they will be providing a whole host of British talent a world stage on which to show their ability.
The rearranged main event will feature a number one contender welterweight clash with Paul 'Semtex' Daley taking on former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Douglas Lima while the co-main event will feature former UFC star Matt Mitrione taking on Britain's own Oli Thompson in heavyweight action.
Perhaps the most anticipated fights feature two of hottest talents on the UK and Irish MMA scenes with Michael Venom Paige 'MVP' taking Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos and Conor McGregor's teammate and training partner James Gallagher taking on Mike Cutting.
All fighters weighed in at the Cafe De Paris in London. The flash point of the weigh-ins came when featherweights James Gallagher and Mike Cutting came nose-to-nose. Cutting had just tipped the scales 2.3lbs overweight and then proceeded to say something to Gallagher during their staredown. The Irishman reacted by pushing Cutting in the chest but before things could get out of hand, the two were broken up and moved away from each other.
Other highlights of the weigh-in included the inimitable Michael Venom Paige dancing during his staredown with Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos and then the former British heavyweight champion boxer Lennox Lewis getting in the middle of main eventers Paul Daley and Douglas Lima before their staredown kicked off.
It was one of the more lively weigh-ins to say the least but it all makes for an exciting evening on Saturday night at the 02.
Tickets are still available here at Ticketmaster
The main card will broadcast first on Spike TV UK at 9pm it will then move across to Channel 5 at 10pm until midnight.
Bellator 158 Main Card
Douglas Lima (170.8lb) vs. Paul Daley (170.8lb)
Matt Mitrione (256.5lb) vs. Oli Thompson (234.8lb)
Michael Page (169.8lb) vs. Evangelista Santos (170lb)
Lukasz Klinger (204.9lb) vs. Francis Carmont (205.3lb)
James Gallagher (144.7lb) vs. Mike Cutting (148.3lb)*
Preliminary Card
Neil Grove (266.8lb) vs. James Mulheron (244.7lb)
Michael Shipman (185.9lb) vs. Dom Clark (185.4lb)
Pietro Menga (124.7lb) vs. Spencer Hewitt (125.5lb)
Luiz Tosta (135.6lb) vs. Dean Garnett (135.7lb)
Jason Radcliffe (185.3lb) vs. Jack Mason (185.2lb)
Chase Morton (145.1lb) vs. Nathaniel Wood (145.3lb)
Alex Reid (183.1lb) vs. Manuel Garcia (186.9lb)**
C.J. Meeks (185.1lb) vs. Danny Mitchell (185.7lb)
* Cutting missed weight by 2.3lb
** Garcia initially weighed-in over by 0.9lbs but returned later to weigh-in at 185.7lb.
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