Joe Warren vs. L.C. Davis Headlines Bellator 143; Grove-Beltran to Serve as Co-Main

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A matchup between former bantamweight ace Joe Warren and World Extreme Cagefighting veteran L.C. Davis will serve as the headliner for Bellator 143.

Promotion officials announced the bout on Tuesday as well as a middleweight co-main event showdown between Kendall Grove and Joey Beltran. Bellator 143 takes place on Sept. 25 at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, and will air on Spike TV beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

Warren lost the bantamweight strap at Bellator 135, as he succumbed to a Marcos Galvao kneebar 45 seconds into the second round on March 27. That defeat ended a five-fight winning streak for the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet,” who captured 135-pound gold with a five-round verdict over Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 128.

Davis is unbeaten in three appearances with the California-based promotion thus far. The Kansas City, Mo., native is coming off a split-decision triumph over Japanese veteran Hideo Tokoro in what was one of 2015’s best fights. Davis also owns victories over Zeilton Rodrigues and Taurean Bogguess under the Bellator banner.

Grove came up short in his bid for the middleweight title at when he was stopped via fourth-round technical knockout by Brandon Halsey at Bellator 137 on May 15. The UFC veteran is 2-2 thus far in his Bellator tenure.

Beltran has also compiled a 2-2 mark with the Scott Coker-led organization. In his most recent outing, the “Mexicutioner” earned a majority decision against Brian Rogers at Bellator 136.