{"id":264523,"date":"2017-11-28T13:07:45","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T21:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=264523"},"modified":"2017-11-28T13:08:47","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T21:08:47","slug":"video-bellator-just-dropped-promo-heavyweight-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/bellator\/video-bellator-just-dropped-promo-heavyweight-grand-prix\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO | Bellator Just Dropped The Promo for Their Heavyweight Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TCCL9EwyXs4\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>For hardcore MMA fans and casuals alike, Bellator is bringing back the illustrious grand prix tournament to crown their new heavyweight champion. Ever since it was announced, speculation ran rampant as fans and media alike started making their own match-ups. Not only do we have all of the bouts set, but now we know the location and dates of every opening scrap of the grand prix. The latest trailer is just the cherry on top.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span>\u201cThis is going to be something that\u2019s iconic for us. Tournaments, traditionally, are kind of the way martial arts contests happen. Now we get to put eight iconic brand names in our sport together over a year, and then whoever wins will be crowned the heavyweight champion.\u00a0<\/span><span>I think there are certain fights that people want to see. Believe me, we\u2019re going to have some amazing match-ups in this tournament. These fights that we\u2019re going to put together are something that the fans want to see. These are iconic names, big brands.\u201d<\/span><span>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/mmajunkie.com\/2017\/11\/bellator-mma-tournament-world-grand-prix-fedor-emelianenko-chael-sonnen-rampage-jackson-frank-mir\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Scott Coker speaking to MMA Junkie<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span>All of the opening match-ups and their respective dates all the way up until May 2018 are listed below. After the bouts unfold, dates for both the semi-finals and final will be announced. Official alternates for the heavyweight\u00a0grand prix\u00a0\u2014 with hopefuls including <a href=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/rory-macdonald\/rory-macdonald-wants-bellator-mma-heavyweight-grand-prix\/\">Rory MacDonald<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/bellator\/breaking-shane-carwin-officially-negotiations-bellator\/\">Shawn Carwin<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 will also to be determined. The tournament will last the entire year of 2018 and will crown the first Bellator heavyweight champion since Vitaly Minakov last defended back in\u00a02014.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix First-Round Matchups:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellator 192 at The Forum \u2013\u00a0Jan. 20, 2018:\u00a0Quinton \u201cRampage\u201d Jackson<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>(37-12) vs.\u00a0Chael Sonnen\u00a0(30-15-1)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellator 194 at Mohegan Sun Arena \u2013\u00a0Feb. 16, 2018:\u00a0Matt Mitrione\u00a0(12-5) vs.\u00a0Roy Nelson\u00a0(23-14)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellator at Allstate Arena \u2013 April, 2018:\u00a0Fedor Emelianenko\u00a0(36-5, 1 NC) vs.\u00a0Frank Mir\u00a0(18-11)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bellator at SAP Center \u2013 May, 2018:\u00a0Ryan Bader\u00a0(24-5) vs.\u00a0\u201cKing Mo\u201d\u00a0Lawal\u00a0(21-6, 1 NC)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Bellator-Bracket.jpg\" alt=\"Bellator HWGP\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-264528 size-full\" width=\"730\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Bellator-Bracket.jpg 730w, https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Bellator-Bracket-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Bellator-Bracket-585x305.jpg 585w, https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Bellator-Bracket-390x203.jpg 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><i>This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>\u00a0on 11\/28\/2017.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For hardcore MMA fans and casuals alike, Bellator is bringing back the illustrious grand prix tournament to crown their new heavyweight champion. Ever since it was announced, speculation ran rampant as fans and media alike started making their own match-ups. Not only do we have all of the bouts set, but now we know the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54442,"featured_media":264527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.7 (Yoast SEO v19.14) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>VIDEO | Bellator Just Dropped The Promo for Their Heavyweight Grand Prix | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/bellator\/video-bellator-just-dropped-promo-heavyweight-grand-prix\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VIDEO | Bellator Just Dropped The Promo for Their Heavyweight Grand Prix | BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For hardcore MMA fans and casuals alike, Bellator is bringing back the illustrious grand prix tournament to crown their new heavyweight champion. 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