Emanuel Newton vs. Joey Beltran title fight headlines Bellator 124 in Michigan

Bellator MMA will return to Michigan next month with the light heavyweight title on the line.

Emanuel Newton (23-7-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) will make the first defense of his championship when he takes on Joey Beltran (15-10 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 124. Promotion officials announced the fight card and headliner on Tuesday. Also set for the card is a light heavyweight tournament final between Kelly Anundson (9-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) and Liam McGeary (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA).

Bellator 124 will take place Sept. 12 at Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Mich., a west suburb of Detroit. The main card will air on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com. Tickets for the event go on sale Friday through Ticketmaster, Bellator.com and the venue box office. The card will be Bellator’s second of its 11th season.

After winning the interim light heavyweight title against Muhammed Lawal this past November at Bellator 106, Newton returned in March and won the belt outright when he took a split-decision from champion Attila Vegh. That victory gave him five wins in a row, and 10 victories in his past 11 fights. The lone setback was a split-decision loss to Vegh in 2012.

“I’ve been wanting to get back in the cage as soon as possible, so I went to Scott Coker and he made this fight happen for me,” Newton stated. “Beltran is a guy that always pushes the pace and looks for the finish, which plays into my style perfectly. I know he is coming off a nice win against (Vladimir) Matyushenko, and has been in this game for a while, so I’m excited for the fight and another chance to defend my belt.”

Beltran picked up the aforementioned win over Matyushenko in April, submitting his fellow UFC veteran in the third round at Bellator 116. That was Beltran’s first victory in nearly two years, and his first win for a major promotion in nearly three years. Before that win, Beltran had lost three in a row, five of six and seven of 10, not including a victory over Igor Pakrajac in the UFC that was overturned when he failed a post-fight drug test for a banned steroid. After being cut by the UFC after a loss to Fabio Maldonado this past October, he signed with Bellator and was knocked out by “Rampage” Jackson in the first round at Bellator 108.

“I’m jacked to get this shot against Newton,” Beltran stated. “He’s a tough guy, but I’ve been in this sport for a while now and have fought some of the best. I’ve got some good momentum after my last fight, and we’re going to put on a show.”

The Anundson-McGeary winner will be next in line to face the Newton-Beltran winner. Anundson beat Rodney Wallace in the light heavyweight tourney’s opening round. Then he got a TKO win over Philipe Lins in July when Lins suffered a knee injury. That gave him six straight wins, including all three of his Bellator fights in 2014. McGeary, from England, stayed unbeaten at Bellator 122 when he stopped Egidijus Valavicius in the first round. That kept his streak of first-round finishes for Bellator intact with four first-round knockouts and a first-round submission for the promotion.

For more on Bellator 124, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Emanuel Newton)