Lombard vs. Shlemenko, Fujii vs. Frausto at Bellator 34

Monday, October 25, 2010

By FCF Staff; photo courtesy Bellator Fighting Championship

Bellator Fighting Championship will close out the promotion’s third season this Thursday, October 28th in Hollywood, Florida. The card will be headlined by two title fights, as middleweight champion Hector Lombard will look to defend against Alexander Shlemenko, and Megumi Fujii will square off with Zoila Frausto for the 115lb. women's championship.

“Both of these fights should be electrifying,” Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney was quoted saying in a press release from the promotion. “Hector Lombard is the most dynamic and powerful middleweight in the world today and his challenger; Alexander Shlemenko is a knockout artist from Russia.  This fight should be a war.”

“And, when it comes to the Bellator Women’s Title, this really is a dream matchup for the Women’s 115 lb Championship. Fujii is the greatest pound for pound female on earth and Zoila’s striking ability is the better than any woman on earth, south of 125.Fujii's pound-for-pound title will be on the line in what promises to be one of the most electrifying battles in the history of women's MMA.”

Lombard (26-2-1) (pictured) has gone 4-0 in 2010 and is coming off back-to-back knockout victories over Jay Silva and Hebert Goodman. The American Top Team fighter hasn’t lost in 20 fights.

Shlemenko (30-4) won the second season, Bellator middleweight tourney, earning a unanimous decision win over Matt Major, and by stopping Jared Hess and most recently, Bryan Baker. The noted striker has won six straight.

“Winning the title is my main goal, and I went a very long way to get here,” said Shlemenko. “Also, in my home city no one has ever had an MMA championship belt of such a high caliber, and I want to be the first one to achieve it.”

Fujii (22-0) has gone 3-0 this year to date; most recently on September 30th, the renowned grappler tapped out Lisa Ward in the first round.

Frausto (9-1) has also won three bouts in 2010, by knocking out Rosi Sexton in April, and then through working her way to decision wins over Jessica Pane and Jessica Augilar.

“This the biggest Woman's Tournament in the World, stacked with the best competition in the weight class,” said Frausto. “Winning this tournament would make me the best of the best, and I want that more than anything in the world right now.”

Bellator 34 will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net and will be hosted by Hollywood’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.