Attila Vegh and Emanuel Newton unify titles at Bellator 113 on March 21
Bellator MMA light heavyweight champ Attila Vegh (29-4-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) and interim titleholder Emanuel Newton (22-7-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) will unify the belts on March 21 when they meet in the main event of Bellator 113, which takes place at Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kan.
Bellator officials recently announced the card, which also includes all four opening round matchups in the promotion’s Season 10 lightweight tournament with Patricky “Pitbull†Freire (11-5 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) vs. David Rickels (15-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA), Rodrigo Cavalheiro (14-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Marcin Held (16-3 MMA, 5-2 BMMA), Derek Anderson (10-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Terry Etim (16-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and Derek Campos (13-3 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) vs. Brandon Girtz (10-3 MMA, 3-1 BMMA).
As with all of Bellator’s Season 10 events, the night’s main card airs on Spike TV following prelims that stream on Spike.com.
The headlining contest serves as a rematch of the 2012 Summer Series tournament semifinal, in which Vegh earned a split decision over Newton. Vegh would go on to defeat Travis Wiuff in the tourney final and then downed Christian M’Pumbu to claim the Bellator light heavyweight title but has been on the shelf since and has yet to defend his belt.
“I’m ready to get back into the cage and defend my belt,†Vegh said. “Even though I won my last fight with Emanuel, I wasn’t happy with my performance. I was ready, but things just didn’t go the way I planned. We are both different fighters since then, and it’s going to be a great fight.â€
Meanwhile, Newton bounced back from the loss to Vegh with a Season 8 tournament win. With Vegh sidelined by a dubious injury, Newton defeated Muhammed “King Mo†Lawal to claim an interim belt. Now the two titles will be unified.
“I’m ready for redemption,†Newton said. “I really wasn’t ready at the time in my career to be a champion. It wasn’t something physically, mentally and spiritually I was prepared for. I’m a totally different fighter now, and this is my time.â€
The eight lightweight competitors will kick off the Season 10 tournament with a future shot at the title on the line. Current champ Eddie Alvarez and former champ Michael Chandler are expected to meet for a third time later this year.
With the announcement, the Bellator 113 lineup includes:
Attila Vegh vs. Emanuel Newton – Bellator MMA light heavyweight title unification bout
Patricky Freire vs. David Rickels – lightweight tournament opening round
Rodrigo Cavalheiro vs. Marcin Held – lightweight tournament opening round
Derek Anderson vs. Terry Etim – lightweight tournament opening round
Derek Campos vs. Brandon Girtz – lightweight tournament opening round
