Bobby Lashley vs. James Thompson heavyweight rematch official for Bellator 145 in St. Louis

Bobby Lashley

As first reported by MMAjunkie earlier this month, a heavyweight rematch between Bobby Lashley and James Thompson now is official for Bellator 145.

Bellator officials announced the finalized booking on Friday night’s Spike broadcast of Bellator 143 in Texas. Promotion President Scott Coker told MMAjunkie earlier this month that Thompson (20-14 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) had agreed to fight Lashley (13-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) on the November show in a rematch that had been scheduled twice before, but scrapped.

Bellator 145 takes place Nov. 6 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The main card, featuring two title fights at the top of the bill, will air on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Lashley most recently fought at Bellator 138, also in St. Louis, where he stopped Dan Charles with a second-round TKO. Charles was a short-notice replacement for Thompson, who withdrew from the event due to injury.

It was the second time the matchup was scratched after an injury forced Lashley out of a scheduled meeting at Bellator 134. Thompson won his first meeting with Lashley, outpointing the former professional wrestler under the Super Fight League banner in India in May 2012.

Thompson hasn’t fought since June 2014, when he earned a first-round TKO over Eric Prindle under the Bellator banner, his debut with the promotion. It was his fifth straight win in six tries. After a horrendous run of just three wins in 15 fights between May 2006 and September 2010, the Brit now has five straight wins.

The latest Bellator 145 card includes:

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

• Patricio Freire vs. Daniel Straus – for featherweight title
• Will Brooks vs. Marcin Held – for lightweight title
• Pat Curran vs. Justin Lawrence
• Michael Chandler vs. David Rickels
• Bobby Lashley vs. James Thompson

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 7 p.m. ET)

• Vince Eazelle vs. Chris Heatherly
• Scott Ettling vs. Garrett Mueller
• Garrett Gross vs. Luke Nelson

For more on Bellator 145, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.