Former Bellator Middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko (53-9-1) faces Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner Kendall Grove tonight.
Shlemenko returns to Bellator after his no-contest bout with Melvin Manhoef in February 2015. Shlemenko originally won via knockout, but the decision was overturned after tests revealed elevated testosterone levels.
Shlemenko took a hiatus from Bellator and entered the M-1 Global Middleweight tournament in Russia this year. He defeated Vyacheslav Vasilevsky twice to win the tournament. The former champion lost the Bellator belt back in 2014 to Brandon Halsey via first round rear naked choke.
Grove (23-15-1) is an MMA veteran that has currently won two in a row. Since leaving the UFC, where he fought for five years, Grove has gone 4-2 fighting for the belt last year at Bellator 137, where he lost to Brandon Halsey via punches in the 4th round.
His last performance yielded a second round knockout of Francisco France at Bellator 150 and the bout surely has title contention written all over it for either man.
Also returning from a nearly year-long hiatus is former professional wrestling standout Bobby Lashley (14-2). After destroying James Thompson last November within 54 seconds of the first round, Lashley has been dormant, patiently waiting for his next opponent after going 4-0 in Bellator.
His opponent, Josh Appelt (12-5), is making his return after losing his last Bellator event to Freddie Aquitania in 2014 at Bellator 115. Lashley is looking to rise in the Heavyweight division in a career that hasnt really yielded the returns he has looked for since leaving Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Catch all the MMA action tonight live from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee on Spike TV at 9pm EST.
