Renê Nazaré in action at Bellator / Photo: Phillip Hays/publicity
Coming off a loss in his Bellator debut, Daniel Gracie returns to the cage this Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The black belt holds a record of five wins, three losses and a draw; and he will be facing promotional first-timer Duane Bastres.
The main event of the evening is the middleweight GP semifinals, where Brazil’s Vitor Vianna takes on the dangerous Bryan Baker. The Jiu-Jitsu instructor at Wanderlei Silva’s Las Vegas academy, Vianna hasn’t tasted defeat since 2006. In the other bracket, Russia’s Alexander Shlemenko squares off with Brian Rogers.
Now Rio de Janeiro native Rene Nazaré, who is undefeated in his ten-fight MMA career, will collide with Jacob Kirwan, while Claudio Ledesma, a Renzo Gracie student, will face off with Brian Kelleher. (With the collaboration of Junior Samurai)
Bellator 54
Atlantic City, Nova Jersey, USA
October 15, 2011
Middleweight GP – semifinal
Bryan Baker vs Vitor Vianna
Alexander Shlemenko vs Brian Rogers
Zach Makovsky vs Ryan Roberts
Jacob Kirwan vs Rene Nazaré
Duane Bastress vs Daniel Gracie
Karl Amoussou vs Joey Kirwan
Tim Carpenter vs Ryan Contaldi
Andria Caplan vs Adrienne Seiber
Brian Kelleher vs Claudio Ledesma