Bellator Fighting Championships officials have unveiled their final host site for the current fourth season.
Bellator 44, the organization's second-to-last show of the season, takes place May 14 at Caesars Atlantic City in New Jersey.
As MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) first reported, the headliner features a non-title bout between Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard (27-2-1 MMA, 6-0 BFC) and Falaniko Vitale (28-9 MMA, 0-0 BFC).
The event also will feature the finale of one of the organization's four season-four tournaments.
"This is a great partnership for us; Atlantic City is a classic fight town, and New Jersey is a hotbed for mixed martial arts, so it was a natural fit," Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney stated. "And, Hector vs. Falaniko should be a great fight."
Lombard, who won Bellator's season-one tournament to become champion, beat the first challenger to his belt this past October when he took on season-three tourney winner Alexander Shlemenko and earned a unanimous-decision win at Bellator 34. With the victory, Lombard's win streak now stands at 16 fights, and he hasn't lost a bout since November 2006.
Vitale returned to active competition this past year and put together back-to-back wins in his home state of Hawaii. It was a welcome turnaround following an unsuccessful stint in Strikeforce in which Vitale went 1-2. The UFC veteran holds notable victories over Yushin Okami, Matt Lindland and former UFC champ Dave Menne. His fight with Lombard serves as his Bellator debut.
Caesars Atlantic City features a 1,600-seat performance venue. It plays host to Bellator's first-ever show in New Jersey
Tickets for the event are now on sale.