Michael Page Out of Bellator 151, Gilbert Smith Now Faces Fernando Gonzalez in Co-Main Event

The main card of Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell on March 4 is complete with today’s announcement that Gilbert Smith (12-4) will replace Michael Page and now face Fernando Gonzalez (24-13) in the evening’s co-main event.

In addition, Sirwan Kakai (12-3) will make his promotional debut against Joe Taimanglo (21-6) in the fourth and final main card contest. Seven preliminary scraps have also been confirmed and can be found below.

Smith will be making his Bellator MMA debut against a fighter who is currently in the midst of a four-fight winning streak. “Midnight Magic” is on a bit of a roll of his own, coming into the promotion riding a two-bout winning streak. A veteran of UFC and most recently RFA, Smith won the regional promotion’s welterweight belt in June, defending the title one time before signing with Bellator.

Gonzalez took a brief hiatus from MMA to compete in the kickboxing portion of the groundbreaking Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1 event in September, losing a tightly contest decision to world-renowned striker Paul “Semtex” Daley. Gonzalez now returns to his comfort zone of MMA, where he has strung together an impressive four-fight winning streak. A veteran of the Scott Coker-founded Strikeforce promotion, as well as World Extreme Cagefighting, Gonzalez has been competing professionally since 2003.

Kakai is one of Bellator MMA’s latest signings, joining the fray after a two-fight stint in the UFC. “Zohan,” 26, hails from Sweden and owns 10 finishes in his 12 victories as a professional fighter. With a bantamweight title fight one-week prior and another marquee 135-pound pairing in the main event, it will be interesting to see what a win does for Kakai in the grand scheme of things.

Taimanglo will be making his seventh appearance under the Bellator MMA umbrella, and is riding a two-fight winning streak. A Guam-native, “The Juggernaut” has stopped his opponent in 21 of his victories and has only lost twice in his last 14 fights. Look for the 31-year-old to make an impression against the bantamweight division’s newest commodity.

Updated “Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” Fight Card:

Bantamweight Main Event: Joe Warren (13-4) vs. Darrion Caldwell (8-0)
Welterweight Co-Main Event: Gilbert Smith (12-4) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (24-13)
Featherweight Feature Bout: Goiti Yamauchi (19-2) vs. Bubba Jenkins (10-2)
Bantamweight Feature Bout: Sirwan Kakai (12-3) vs. Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1)

Preliminary Card:

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Chris Jones (10-3) vs. Ray Wood (5-1)
Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Steve Garcia (6-0) vs. Ricky Turcios (5-0)
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Justin Patterson (6-1) vs. Chance Rencountre (8-1)
Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Treston Thomison (8-4) vs. Aaron Roberson (5-3)
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Roger Carroll (16-13) vs. Neiman Gracie (3-0)
Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Derek Palmer (Debut) vs. Jermayne Barnes (0-1)
Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Shane Peterson (13-4) vs. Stephen Banaszak (5-5)

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