Rebney says Tito will have 30lbs on Shlemenko
source | Sherdog
Tito Ortiz will likely have a major weight advantage on his side when he meets Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko in a light heavyweight bout that’s being planned for Bellator’s May 17 pay-per-view event.
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show on Wednesday to discuss the matchup, Shlemenko’s eagerness to fight Ortiz and more.
On whether the fight is official: “I’m probably a step away, a day away from getting final approval from the commission. We’re making it obviously at 205 because Shlemenko said, ‘I don’t care. I’ll go up to whatever weight he wants to fight at. It makes no difference to me.’ We’re probably a step away from official, but all indications are we’re going to make it happen. It’ll be the third fight on the pay-per-view.”
On the weight difference: “It’s 20 pounds on paper, but legitimately, Shlemenko walks around at 190. He’s a guy who cuts four pounds, who stops eating big meals a day and a half before the fight to cut four pounds of water weight to make 185. He’s a typical Eastern European fighter who’s not interested in the cut. By the time that fight goes into the cage, you’re probably looking at a 30-, 35-pound weight disparity between Tito and Alexander. I think that’s what gives a lot of the punch behind that big fight that we’ve got coming up in May.”