This Friday Nights Bellator 218 card has lost a bout according to MMA Junkie because Mike Shipman has suffered an injury and has been pulled from the card. Shipman was scheduled to fight Hracho Darpinyan, who has also been pulled from the card because Bellator MMA officials didn?t have time to find the fighter a suitable replacement.
A heavyweight division encounter between Jeremy Hardy and Rudy Schaffroth has been promoted from the preliminary card to serve as the fourth main card bout.
Schaffroth (6-0-0-1NC) has already picked up two wins under the Bellator MMA banner, having defeated the duo of Jon Hill and Vernon Lewis. Schaffroth has competed seven times as a professional MMA fighter and none of those bouts went past the opening round. Schaffroth picked up five wins as an amateur MMA fighter, while also capturing the Full Contact Fighting Federation Heavyweight Title.
Hardy (6-4-0) is going to be making his Bellator MMA debut in the encounter and the fighter hasn?t won a bout in almost a year. Hardy has competed ten times as a professional MMA fighter and none of his bouts have ended by way of submission. Hardy has suffered four losses as a professional MMA fighter and one of those defeats came against UFC veteran Rashad Coulter.
Bellator 218 takes place on Friday, March 22 from the Winstar World Resort & Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma with Emmanuel Sanchez and Georgi Karakhanyan headlining. Fightful is going to be providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on the Paramount Network.