Bellator 99 adds Alexander vs. Matyushenko; Nunes vs. 'Pitbull' named headliner

The fight card is set for next month’s Bellator 99 event, and one of the lineup’s four opening-round matchups in the Season 9 featherweight tournament has taken the top spot.

Bellator 99 takes place Sept. 13 at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif. The main card airs on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

A planned light-heavyweight bout between UFC vet/recent signee Vladimir Matyushenko (26-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and former Bellator champion Christian M’Pumbu (18-5-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) has been scrapped. M’Pumbu suffered a hand injury and has been replaced by Houston Alexander (15-9 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a former UFC fighter who makes his Bellator debut following a pair of stoppage wins earlier this year with VFC.

Taking the main-event spot from Matyushenko vs. M’Pumbu is a tournament bout between Diego Nunes (18-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Patricio Freire (17-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA). Nunes, who recently went 7-4 with the UFC and WEC, makes his Bellator debut against “Pitbull,” a former title challenger and two-time tournament finalist.

New preliminary-card bouts include light heavyweights Savo Kosic (4-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Hector Ramirez (9-5-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), bantamweights Derek Loffer (4-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Mario Navarro (4-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), heavyweights Blagoi Ivanov (7-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) vs. Manny Lara (4-3 MMA, 0-2 BMMA), and light heavyweights Nick Moghaddam (6-6-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) vs. Virgil Zwicker (10-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

The full Bellator 99 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Spike TV, 9 p.m. ET)

• Patricio Freire vs. Diego Nunes – featherweight tournament opening round
• Houston Alexander vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Shahbulat Shamhalaev vs. Akop Stepanyan – featherweight tournament opening round
• Desmond Green vs. Fabricio Guerreiro – featherweight tournament opening round
• Andrew Fisher vs. Joe Taimanglo – featherweight tournament opening round

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 7 p.m. ET)

• Savo Kosic vs. Hector Ramirez
• Derek Loffer vs. Mario Navarro
• Andy Murad vs. Gavin Sterritt
• Musa Toliver vs. Goiti Yamauchi
• Blagoi Ivanov vs. Manny Lara
• Nick Moghaddam vs. Virgil Zwicker

For the latest on Bellator 99, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Houston Alexander)