· Bellator 45 Weigh-Ins Announced, Thiago Santos Off The Card

· Article author: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Posted on 05/19 at 06:55 PM

The weigh-ins and pre-fight press conference for Bellator 45 are scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, May 20, from inside the L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, La. Sixteen fighters are expected to participate.

Bellator cage announcer Michael C. Williams and color commentator Jimmy Smith will emcee the public event. The entire weigh-ins/pre-fight press conference will also stream live at Bellator.com.

Bellator 45 boasts the finals of both the featherweight and light heavyweight tournaments. Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (16-1) and Daniel Straus (16-3) face off for the featherweight tournament title, and Rich “Rare Breed” Hale (17-3-1) meets the hard-hitting Christian “Tonton” M’Pumbu (17-3-1) to determine the first-ever Bellator light heavyweight champion.

Also on the card, Karl “Psycho” Amoussou (12-3-2) battles “Smilin” Sam Alvey (14-2, 1 NC) for a spot in the upcoming middleweight tournament.

Newly signed heavyweight Thiago “Big Monster” Santos has been removed due to an undisclosed injury. An undercard bout between Ben Parpart (2-2) and Joseph Abercrombie (2-1) replaces the Thiago Santos vs. Derrick Lewis match.

Bellator 45 broadcasts live on MTV2 this Saturday, May 21 at 9 p.m. ET.