We’re not in Kansas… Until June 26

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (April 8, 2015) Bellator MMA has announced plans for a summer return to the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kan., on June 26 for an event currently titled “Bellator 139.”

The first two fights confirmed to take place on the “Bellator 139” main card have been announced with  Kansas’ own David “The Caveman” Rickels (16-3) taking on Pride Fighting Championships veteran John Alessio (35-17) in lightweight action and former featherweight champ Pat Curran (20-7) faces Goiti Yamauchi (18-2).

Additional fights, including a main event, will be announced shortly.

The event will broadcast live at 9 p.m. EST/ 8 p.m. CST Live and Free on Spike. The preliminary card will be streamed on Spike.com beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST/ 6:30 p.m. CST Tickets starting at $20 go on sale this Saturday, April 11 at 10 a.m. CT, and can be purchased online at KansasStarEventCenter.com or Ticketmaster.com.

A fan-favorite in the Kansas area, Rickels will be making his 14^th appearance for the Scott Coker-led promotion since 2011. “The Caveman,” a 26-year-old who competed for the 155-pound title against Michael Chandler at Bellator 97, was most recently in action against Davi Ramos at Bellator 130, winning via unanimous decision.

Alessio, 35, has not been in action since May of 2014, when he earned a unanimous decision win against Eric Wisely at Bellator 119. The 53-fight veteran has competed professionally since 1998 against the likes of Pat Miletich, Diego Sanchez and Paul Daley.

A former Bellator MMA 145 pound champion, Curran will return to action for the first time since his split decision loss to Daniel Weichel at Bellator 133. “Paddy Mike” has been involved in some of the most entertaining scraps in promotional history and will look to continue that trend against Yamauchi.

At only 22-years-old, Yamauchi is already making waves in Bellator’s featherweight division. The Japanese competitor holds victories over Mike Richman and Martin Stapleton and has earned 15 of his 18 professional wins before reaching the judges’ scorecards. The upcoming bout with Curran will serve as his toughest test to date under the Bellator banner.

THIS WEEK: Bellator Lightweight World Champion Will Brooks looks to defend his title for the first time against former lightweight tournament winner Dave Jansen.  Also on the card, World Champion kickboxer Joe Schilling returns to the Bellator cage for the first time since he produced a Knockout of the Year candidate over Melvin Manhoef last November.  Schilling faces a tough Rafael Carvalho at “Bellator: Brooks vs. Jansen,” which airs Live and Free on Spike this Friday, April 10, at 9/8c from the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine.