Bellator MMA announced Thursday the promotion will host a “Salute the Troops” event on Dec. 14 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, in partnership with the USO (United Service Organizations).
Bellator MMA announced Thursday the promotion will host a “Salute the Troops” event on Dec. 14 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, in partnership with the USO (United Service Organizations).
It will be a live event free of charge for the troops, family and friends.
The main event will be a lightweight championship bout between titleholder Brent Primus (8-0) and challenger Michael Chandler (18-4). Also featured is a heavyweight bout between Frank Mir (18-12) and Javy Ayala (10-7).
Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.
“The USO is a historic military support organization — not just in entertainment but in connecting them back to the things they love and fight for,” said Bellator president Scott Coker in a news release. “It made perfect sense for Bellator to establish a relationship with the USO and provide a unique opportunity to Hawaii’s military population. We appreciate their service to the nation, and we hope this is just the first of many opportunities for us to work together.”
The Salute the Troops event will air on Paramount Network will be simulcast on CMT. It will also be streamed on DAZN, and preliminary fights will be streamed on Bellator.com.
On Dec. 15, the weekend culminates with the Bellator Hawaii event headlined by flyweight champion and Hawaii native Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defending her Bellator title against Valerie Letourneau at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The co-main event is a middleweight bout between Lyoto Machida and Rafael Carvalho.
The Dec. 15 event will be aired exclusively on DAZN.
