Two Title Fights Head Bellator 145 in St. Louis

Bellator MMA’s Featherweight Championship will be defended in a trilogy contest between incumbent titlist Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (24-2) and former champion Daniel Straus (23-6, 1 NC) when the two square off in the main event of “Bellator 145: Vengeance” at Scottrade Center in Saint Louis on November 6.

In a fight also worthy of main event billing, Will “Ill Will” Brooks (16-1) will look to defend his 155-pound belt when he meets submission specialist Marcin Held (21-3). Fans who tune-in to “Bellator 145: Vengeance” on Spike will also be treated to lightweight Michael Chandler (13-3) and heavyweight Bobby “The Dominator” Lashley (13-2) competing inside the Bellator MMA cage. Opponents for both fighters will be announced in the coming weeks.

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The contests will take up four spots during the main card of “Bellator 145: ‘Vengeance,” which airs live on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts will stream on Spike.com at 6 p.m. CT.

Tickets for “Bellator 145: ‘Vengeance,” which start at just $30, go on sale next Friday, August 21 at 10 a.m. on Ticketmaster.com and at the Ford Box Office at Scottrade Center, with a special Bellator Nation presale available on the 19th and 20th for fans using the code: FIGHT. Doors for the event open at 5:00 p.m. CT local time, and the first contest takes place one hour after.

“Following the success of ‘Unfinished Business’ in June, it was a no-brainer for us to make our return to the Scottrade Center and St. Louis before the year’s end. Once again, I look forward to working alongside Jesse Finney and his standout promotion Shamrock FC on putting together another must-see event,” Bellator MMA President Scott Coker said. “In addition to not one, but two world-class title fights, Michael Chandler and Bobby Lashley also being featured at ‘Vengeance’ brings a sense of hometown pride back to the outstanding fans of Missouri.”

Freire is a multi-time Bellator Featherweight Tournament winner who has only tasted defeat twice in his illustrious 26-fight career. Best known as “Pitbull,” the tenacious striker has finished 18 of his 24 wins and was most recently on the positive end of a devastating knockout of Daniel Weichel at “Bellator 138: Unfinished Business.” A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, “Pitbull” owns victories over his “Bellator 145: Vengeance” opponent in their prior two battles.

After recovering from a devastating knee injury following his last meeting with Freire, Daniel Straus bounced back with a spectacular submission stoppage of Henry Corrales at “Bellator 138: Unfinished Business.” A member of American Top Team in Florida, the 31-year-old wants to reclaim the belt that he still considers to be his, which was made clear during his post-fight interview with Bellator MMA color commentator Jimmy Smith  where he said: “Whoever holds the featherweight belt, I am coming to beat you up.”

A training partner of Straus at ATT, Brooks has been yearning to return to action since his unanimous decision victory over Dave Jansen at “Bellator 136: Brooks vs. Jansen.” The 28-year-old will be making his tenth appearance inside the Bellator MMA cage and competing in a bout where the lightweight title is on the line for the fourth consecutive time.

At only 23-years-old, Held will officially cash-in the title shot earned from his Bellator Season 10 Lightweight Tournament Final victory at “Bellator 126: Shlemenko vs. Halsey.” A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Held has earned titles at prominent grappling tournaments the likes of: ADCC, FILA and IBJJF. In his most recent Bellator MMA appearance, the Polish fighter finished Alexander Sarnavskiy via kneebar, pushing his career total of wins by way of submission to 12.