Bellator 185: Mousasi vs. Shlemenko takes place Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Featuring the promotional debut of top tier middleweight Gegard Mousasi against Alexander Shlemenko, the undercard suffered through considerable upheaval that saw it lose names like King Mo, Liam McGeary, Brennan Ward and David Rickels before an eventual co-main event of Neiman Gracie vs. Zak Bucia was settled on.
Mousasi (42–6–2) will enter the main event coming off a five-fight win streak against some of the best in the UFC. Most recently, he finished Chris Weidman in something of an odd finish at UFC 210. Shlemenko (56–9 (1)), one of the few fighters with more bouts to his name than Mousasi in the 185 weight class, enters the night on a five fight win streak. Four of those bouts came under the M-1 banner.
Also on the card, the sophomore appearance in MMA of boxing champ Heather Hardy, who became an overnight sensation at Bellator 180 in New York this past June. The very same night, fellow boxing crossover star Ana Julaton will make her Bellator debut after fighting her four previous pro bouts under the ONE Championship banner in Asia.
A successful outing for both Hardy and Julaton could put the flyweights on an eventual collision course.
Be sure to check out our conversation with Bellator 185 headliner Alexander Shlemenko, where he talks about opponent Gegard Mousasi, additional drug testing for the bout, title shot implications and more!
Check back at 5PM EST for a live stream of the Bellator 185 weigh-ins!
