Bellator 182 Official Weigh In and Preview

Story, Photos, and Videos by Jose Cuevas

Verona, N.Y. – Bellator 182 this weekend is promising to be a great Mixed Martial Arts event.  The fighters participating in the fight card weighed in Thursday at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. As I walked to the official weigh in the tension was palpable as fighters had their game faces on wanting fight night to inch closer. This is a very deep card with 18 bouts total and with four bouts on the televised main card. 

Below are the official weights heading into Friday's August 25th event.

Main Card

Andrey Koreshkov (171.0 pounds) versus Chidi Njokuani (175.0 pounds)
Brennan Ward (178.0 pounds) versus Fernando Gonzalez (180.0 pounds)
A.J. McKee (146.0 pounds) versus Blair Tugman (146.0 pounds)
Bruna Ellen (125.25 pounds) versus Veta Arteaga (125.25 pounds) 

Preliminary Bouts 
Georgi Karakhanyan (146.0 pounds) versus Daniel Pineda (146.0 pounds)
Noad Lahat (146.0 pounds) versus Henry Corrales (145.0 pounds)
Chris Honeycutt (185.5 pounds) versus Kevin Casey (186.0 pounds)
Ricky Rainey (170.5 pounds) versus Marc Stevens (175.5 pounds)
Matt Secor (174 pounds) versus TJ Sumler (176.5 pounds)
Phillipe Lins (205 pounds) versus Vadim Nemkov (204 pounds)
Sinead Kavanagh (145 pounds) versus Arlene Blencowe (145.75 pounds)
Talita Nogueira (145 pounds) versus Amanda Bell (145 pounds) 
Colleen Schneider (123.75 pounds) versus Kate Jackson (125.5 pounds) 
Tom Regal (170 pounds) versus Kastroit Xhema (169.5 pounds)
Brandon Polcare (137 pounds) versus Alex Potts (139.0 pounds)
Joey Davis (172.0 pounds) versus Justin Roswell (175 pounds)
Josh Ricci (130 pounds) versus Brandon Warne (129 pounds) 
Kristi Lopez (126 pounds) versus Jessica Sotack (126 pounds)

Fernando Gonzales and Chidi Njokuani missed their contracted weights with Gonzales' weight at 180 pounds, and Njokuani weighing in at 175 pounds. The fights will still take place as scheduled. 

Here is a video of the full event.

                                                               
                                                             
                                                    Must Watch Fights


                                  Brennan Ward versus Fernando Gonzalez

Brennan Ward on the scale

"Irish" Brennan Ward is the epitome of an exciting action fighter. He likes to engage in striking contests with his opponents and has the philosophy of putting on a show for the audience. His style of fighting has brought him many victories as he has a KO/TKO percentage of 64. However, in his most recent fight he was knocked out by Paul Daley via a vicious flying knee, which shows that his overly aggressive style can open him to dangerous strikes.

Fernando Gonzalez on the scale

Fernando Gonzalez is a very methodical and patient fighter. He has the knack of frustrating his opponents with his solid fundamentals. He is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Brandon Girtz at Bellator 174. Despite the victory Gonzalez lost a contested split decision in his penultimate fight against the flashy Michael Page. Ward has will most likely engage Gonzalez immediately, Gonzalez has to be careful to not allow Wards overactive style to sway the judges and lose another decision.

Ward and Gonzalez face off

Both fighters have a lot to prove, expect an interesting and intense fight on Saturday.


                                                 A.J. McKee versus Blair Tugman

A.J. McKee on the scale

A.J. McKee is thought by many to be the next exciting MMA featherweight prospect. McKee is 22 years old and already possesses an 8-0 record along with remarkable athleticism and solid fundamentals. He is coming off a sensational KO victory via a head kick to Dominic Mazzotta. However, he may be facing his biggest challenge yet in Blair Tugman.

Blair Tugman on the scale

Blair Tugman is a solid wrestler and is fairly proficient in jui-jitsu making him a lethal grappler and submission artist. Tugman is coming off a TKO victory via rear-naked choke which may prompt him to try and take this fight to the ground. However, A.J. is a proficient wrestler and does not fear grappling with Tugman.

McKee and Tugman face off

A.J. McKee is being promoted as the next big thing and so far he has delivered, how will he fair against the tough and rugged Tugman?

                                          Jose Cuevas interviews A.J. McKee

                                                    
                                            Joey Davis Vs Justin Roswell

Joey Davis on the scale

Joey Davis has big things in his future. Hailing from Compton, California he has overcome many obstacles just to earn the right to compete in Bellator. In College he amassed an impressive 133-0 record and is the only wrestler in the NCAA Division II to finish his career undefeated. It isn't a surprise that Davis has prodigious wrestling talent, however he can also hold his own in other disciplines. This fight is key towards building his legacy as a Mixed Martial Artist. 

Justin Roswell on the scale

Justin Roswell is coming off a TKO defeat via an accumulation of punches. He is not only seeking victory but he hopes to derail the hype train behind Davis, who seems to be the heavy favorite. 

Roswell and Davis face off

Expect an action packed fight. One fighter wants to grow his legacy, while another wants to rebound and derail the momentum of another. 

                                            Chidi Njokuani vs Andrey Koreshkov

Chidi Njokuani on the scale

Chidi Njokuani is on a massive winning streak. He has looked truly sensational in his past couple of fights. In his last fight he took on the veteran Melvin Guillard and completely dismantled him. One of the most notable moments was his hard side kick to Guillard's gut which forced him to curl up and cringe in pain. Despite not being able to put him away early, Njokuani showed a lot of composure remaining calm and not committing mistakes in hopes of knocking out the veteran. 

Andrey Koreshkov on the scale

Andrey Koreshkov has a legacy of being a top fighter. He is also the former Bellator Welterweight World Champion. Unlike Njokuani who remained composed despite not being able to KO his opposition, Koreshkov made a mistake and left himself open to a punch by Douglas Lima who defeated him and took his championship. Koreshkov is aware of his mistakes in the previous fight and is determined to defeat Njokuani and confront Lima to take his belt back.

Njokuani and Koreshkov face off

This fight is the main event and rightfully so. Both fighters are very talented and are elite athletes. Njokuani seems unstoppable while Koreshkov has redemption on his mind. Expect a fight of the year candidate in this fight. 

                                                 Jose Cuevas interviews Chidi Njokuani

The main card of Bellator 182 will begin at 9 P.M. EST on Spike. You can watch the preliminary bouts on Bellator.com starting at 6:30P.M. EST.