A big question heading into Friday’s Bellator 124 event centers around Joey Beltran ‘s status a headliner and title challenger. Why is Beltran (15-10 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), who has just one Bellator victory to his name, challenging reigning titleholder Emanuel Newton (23-7-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) for his light heavyweight title? The bout headlines the event, which airs on Spike TV from Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Mich., and it’s received plenty of scrutiny. Bellator President Scott Coker, though, said it’s simply a combination of limited options and a byproduct of the soon-to-be-eliminated tournament format. “Newton has been waiting a long time because he was in the tournament format, which is one of the downfalls of the tournament because now the champion is waiting six, eight months – maybe a year,” Coker told MMAjunkie this past weekend after the Season 11-opening Bellator 123 event. Beltran halted a 1-5 skid (which included a no-contest due to a failed drug test) with a submission victory over vet Vladimir Matyushenko in April
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Why is Joey Beltran getting a title shot? Bellator’s Scott Coker explains – MMA Junkie