Bellator 197 ceremonial weigh-in video highlights, photos featuring Chandler vs. Girtz

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – Bellator is ready to get back to action Friday in the St. Louis area, a regular stop for the promotion.

Bellator 197 takes place Friday at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., near St. Louis. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims on MMAjunkie. It will be Bellator’s first visit to the arena, which is in a west suburb of the city.

In the main event, former lightweight champion Michael Chandler (17-4 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) meets short-notice replacement Brandon Girtz (15-7 MMA, 7-5 BMMA). Chandler was supposed to fight champ Brent Primus in a rematch in an attempt to reclaim the title he lost last summer, but Primus pulled out with an injury.

In the co-feature, A.J. McKee (10-0 MMA, 10-0 BMMA) puts his unbeaten record on the line in a featherweight fight with Justin Lawrence (11-4 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), a native of the St. Louis area.

All eight fighters on the main card hit their weights for Friday’s event, including Kevin Ferguson Jr. – “Baby Slice” – who is fighting in a 160-pound catchweight bout against Devon Brock.

Check out our exclusive highlights video above and full photo gallery below from today’s Bellator 197 ceremonial weigh-ins from the Sheraton Westport Plaza Hotel near St. Louis.

For full numbers from the morning scale proceedings, check out our Bellator 197 official weigh-in results.

And for more on Bellator 197, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.