The current year of Bellator MMA is rolling and their summer event schedule is starting to finalize itself. It was announced yesterday that Bellator welterweight champion Douglas “The Phenom” Lima (26-5) will face the KO artist Andrey Koreshkov (17-1) on July 16th at the Mohegan Sun. Today it was announced that title contender Cheick Kongo (22-10-2) and former World Heavyweight Champion Alexander “Drago” Volkov (24-5) are set to headline the June 26th card from the Kansas Star Event Center in Mulvane, Kansas. These are two exciting match up for a very successful year so far for the Bellator promotion.

Now that the Phil Davis news it's over it’s time to once again talk about the current fighters in Bellator MMA. One we have been waiting to see is the welterweight champion Douglas Lima. The 27 year old Brazilian born athlete is one of the top 170’ers in the world and won his title in the old regime through an 8 man tournament. We haven't seen him since he won the title this time last year so this makes one of the more anticipated match ups across the MMA landscape. He faces another 8 man tournament winner in Koreshkov who has rattled off two straight KO’s before a recent decision victory. Both competitors look for the finish so this fight won’t go deep into the championship rounds.

Cheick Kongo has had a good start in Bellator going 4-2. He faces the former champion Alexander Volkov who is looking to get back into the title contention. Kongo recently lost to Mo Lawal but the dangerous striker is always a tough challenge but will have to deal with the range of Volkov. Alexander also lost a tough battle in his last match as he was out wrestled by Tony Johnson. So both of these fighters will be pushing to get back into the W column. The heavyweight slugfest joins previously announced matchups of lightweights Dave "The Caveman" Rickels (16-3) vs. John "The Natural" Alessio (35-17) and former Bellator MMA featherweight champion Pat "Paddy Mike" Curran (20-7) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (18-2) on the event's featured portion.

Look for more updates on the July 16th soon and the updated June 26th card is listed below.

"Bellator MMA: Kongo vs. Volkov" – Friday, June 26, Kansas Star Event Center Arena, Mulvane, Kansas

Bellator Heavyweight Main Event: Cheick Kongo (22-10-2) vs. Alexander Volkov (24-5)

Bellator Lightweight Feature Fight: Dave Rickels (16-3) vs. John Alessio (35-17)

Bellator Featherweight Feature Fight: Pat Curran (20-7) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (18-2)

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About the author
Travis Brown
Travis has been covering the sport of mixed martial arts for the past three years. He has been a fan of combat sports all of his life and looks to bring his bettors perspective to the Vavel family. Mixed Martial Arts is a global sports and there is no better place for it than Vavel.