Alexander Shlemenko (42-7 MMA, 6-1 BFC) and Vitor Vianna (12-1-1 MMA, 2-0 BFC) will still compete for Bellator Fighting Championships' season-five middleweight tourney crown.They'll just do it a week earlier than expected.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the event that Shlemenko and Vianna will now meet at Bellator 57 instead of Bellator 58, as was previously announced.
An official reason for the switch wasn't given, but it seems likely the promotion simply wanted to balance out the two cards, as Bellator 57 recently lost a planned non-title fight between women's 115-pound champion Zoila Gurgel and Strikeforce vet Carina Damm.
Bellator 57 takes place Nov. 12 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada. The night's main card airs on MTV2 (and in high-definition on EPIX), and prelims stream on Spike.com.
Shlemenko booked his slot with back-to-back stoppage wins over Brian Rogers and Zelg Galesic. The dynamic striker, who is now 11-1 in his past 12 fights, was Bellator's season-two tournament winner but came up short in a title bout with current champ Hector Lombard.
Meanwhile, Vianna is now 6-0 since suffering the lone loss of his career to UFC veteran Thiago Silva in November 2006. He narrowly edged Sam Alvey in a hotly contested Bellator quarterfinal affair and then made quick work of Bryan Baker during a semifinal contest.
