Keri Anne Melendez

Bellator keeps up its busy end-of-year schedule by going head-to-head with the UFC today for Bellator 165, and the promotion just might have a chance to pull in some decent ratings with these fights, especially the one at the top of the card. In the main event, Michael Chandler, in his second stint as Bellator lightweight champion, puts the title he won in June on the line against former UFC lightweight titleholder Benson Henderson. In the co-main event, Michael Page, one of the most electrifying fighters on the Bellator roster, faces Fernando Gonzalez in a fight that was booked and scratched on two previous occasions. The fight card also features the professional debuts of Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez and “Baby Slice,” Kevin Ferguson Jr. Bellator 165 takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Prelims stream on MMAjunkie before the Spike-televised main card.

The event saw Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald move up to the middleweight division to challenge Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi for the Bellator middleweight title. MacDonald was attempting to become the second multi-division champion in Bellator history, after former Bellator bantamweight and featherweight champion Joe Warren. In addition, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson met rival and former PRIDE FC middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva for the fourth time in their respective careers. Going into this fight, Silva held a 2-1 advantage in the series.