The inaugural Bellator PPV scheduled for May 17th in Southhaven, Mississippi has suffered a crumpling blow as Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez has pulled out of the fight with Michael Chandler due to an injury. The third match between Chandler and Alvarez was being hyped as a true MMA classic in the making by Bellator, now the promotion heads into their critical PPV without a credible main event.
Interested in betting on the Bellator 120 card coming up next weekend? Or any of the other MMA events on the calendar? Head over to BETDSI and open an account now!
This has happened to Bellator before, as their 2013 initial PPV offering was cancelled at the last minute and put on feww TV when main eventer Tito Ortiz pulled out of his fight. It is unclear whether Bellator will go ahead with their PPV plans, as they are replacing Alvarez with Will Brooks as the opponent for Pat Curran. Brooks is riding a 4 fight winning streak and he will give Curran a reasonable test, however the match can no longer sit atop the bill for promotion.
Left to sell the PPV are the 2 features previously announced. There is the Light Heavyweight bout between Alexander Shlemenko and Tito Ortiz, and then there is the erstwhile grudge match between Quinton Jackson and King Mo. We have seen King Mo be nothing but average and unspectacular since coming to Bellator, where his two losses to Emanuel Newton have left King Mo in the middle of the pile in the weight class. As for Ortiz and Shlemenko, it is a high risk low reward match for the champion Shlemenko who is stepping up in weight class to fight a man the entire business except Bjorn Rebney knows is toast.
That is two UFC wash-outs and two guys, that for better of for worse, never have even made it to the UFC, so expecting this PPV to sell is a stretch. Bellator has still not announced plans to cancel the PPV and air the card on free TV like they did last time, but it would be the best option, as this is not a card worth plopping down money for.
