Matyushenko (photo via Bellator.com)

Featherweight Tourney Opening Round Announced

By FCF Staff

Vladimir Matyushenko has his first Bellator assignment, as the UFC veteran will fight the promotion’s former light-heavyweight champ Christian M’Pumbu on September 13th. The bout will headline Bellator 99, which will be hosted by the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.

The 42 year-old Matyushenko (26-7) has dropped consecutive bouts to Ryan Bader and Alexander Gustafsson, after stopping Alexandre Ferreira and Jason Brilz.

“This is exactly what I wanted entering Bellator, a tough test right from the start,” Matyushenko said in a press release from the promotion. “I still have a lot of fights left in my tank, and this is the start of a new chapter in my career.”

M’Pumbu (18-5-1) has also struggled lately, as after winning Bellator’s lightweight title in 2011, he’s incurred decision losses versus Travis Wiuff and Attila Vegh.

Bellator has also announced the opening round match-ups for its next featherweight tourney, which will include Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs. Diego Nunes, Shahbulat Shamhalaev vs. Akop Stepanyan, Des Green vs. Fabricio Guerreiro and Joe Taimanglo vs. Andrew Fisher.

Bellator has confirmed to Full Contact Fighter that Freire is still scheduled to fight Jared Downing on July 31st.

The September 13th main card will be broadcast live on SPIKE.