Melvin Manhoef to make promotional debut against Doug Marshall at Bellator 125 on September 19th in Fresno, California

No Mercy and The Rhino are set to headline Bellator 125 September 19th

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

Bellator 125 has just exploded with the edition of  middleweight clash between Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef and Doug “The Rhino” Marshall. With a near 40 KO’s between the two there is definite fireworks expected between the two.

Manhoef is considered a veteran of both MMA and kickboxing, having previously competed in both Strikeforce and K-1. The 38-year-old Dutch native has amassed a 28-11 professional MMA record over almost a 20 year period, these include an astonishing 26 knockouts. And the next fighter in his firing line, is Doug Marshall.

Marshall was riding a four fight win streak; with victories over Kala Hose, Andreas Spang, Sultan Aliev and Brett Cooper, until he came up against the mighty Alexander Schlemenko at Bellator 109 November last year. However he is looking to get back to winning ways with a win over Manhoef.

“This fight is like a dream come true,” Marshall said. “Two heavy hitters going for broke. It’s a classic don’t blink fight. Bet the house someone is going to sleep before the first round is over. And to be able to have this type of fight in front of all my friends and family that I grew up with makes it that much sweeter.”

The night will also feature a pair of middleweights looking to steal the show as Brian Rogers returns to the Bellator cage and takes on California’s own James Irvin. Known for his highlight reel finishes, Rogers believes Irvin is the perfect fight to continue his run of explosive fights inside the Bellator cage.

“I’m excited to welcome James Irvin to the Bellator Middleweight division,” Rogers said. “I’ve made my home in this division since 2011 and I plan on staying here for a long time. I know he’s probably planning on coming in here and reestablishing his career, but he isn’t doing that at my expense.

I’m the worst person anyone can fight in the middleweight division right now. I want to get the word out to the middleweight division that this is my time. And when it comes to this fight, people better expect an extreme amount of violence.”

Also on the card, two featherweights will collide as Goiti Yamauchi takes on the UK’s Martin Stapleton. Despite being 21, Yamauchi has already notched an impressive 17-2 record thus far, including an impressive domination of Mike Richman at Bellator 120. The submission specialist looks to have his hands full with Stapleton, who is fresh off a submission victory against Stanislav Enchev.

The main card also includes a heavyweight showdown between Raphael Butler and Javy Ayala. Still undefeated with an 8-0-1 record, Butler has his sights set on another knockout when he takes on the California native in Ayala.

Full fight card information will be made available in the coming weeks.

MAIN CARD:
Middleweight Feature Fight: Doug Marshall (18-7) vs. Melvin Manhoef (28-11-1)
Middleweight Feature Fight: James Irvin (17-10) vs. Brian Rogers (11-6)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Martin Stapleton (13-3) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (17-2)
Heavyweight Feature Fight:  Javy Ayala (7-3) vs. Raphael Butler (8-0-1)

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