As he announced earlier this year, Ohio native Brian “The Predator” Rogers (11-8, 4-6 Bellator) is moving to the light heavyweight division, and he’ll make his debut in the Bellator 205-pound class when he takes on Virgil Zwicker (14-4-1, 3-1-1 Bellator) at Bellator 147 on Dec. 4 in San Jose, CA.
Rogers will compete under the Bellator banner for the eleventh time, and he is the owner of some of the most devastating finishes in promotion history.
Fans may remember his flying knee knockout over Vitor Vianna at Bellator 61 or his flying knee over Adrian Miles at Bellator 119 as some of their favorites. Both are regularly mentioned among the top knockouts in Bellator history.
A Northeast Ohio native, Rogers began his career training with the Strong Style Fight Team in Cleveland before transitioning to Factory X Muay Thai in Denver, Colorado a few years ago.
Rogers remains a favorite of the Bellator brass for his always exciting fighting style despite owning just one win in his last five outings. He hopes the move to light heavyweight will rejuvenate his career.
Zwicker is trying to separate from the pack in a suddenly crowded 205-pound division. The Strikeforce veteran and California native has won back-to-back fights with victories over UFC veterans Houston Alexander and Razak Al-Hassan under the Bellator banner.
Rogers recently made a trip to San Jose to train with its most famous fight camp, as he spent some time at the American Kickboxing Academy in preparation for his upcoming fight.
Going to get some work in today with @LukeRockhold at AKA ! #mma pic.twitter.com/b2rX5QcKVv
— Brian Rogers aka B-Rog (@BRogthePredator) November 6, 2015
A total of five bouts are set for the Bellator 147 main card, which will be headlined by a 155-pound fight featuring former Strikeforce champ Josh Thomson taking on Pablo Villaseca.
Check out the full card below:
Main Card (Spike TV):
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Josh Thomson (21-8, 1 NC) vs. Pablo Villaseca (10-1)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Georgi Karakhanyan (24-4-1) vs. Daniel Weichel (35-9)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Patricky Freire (14-6) vs. Derek Anderson (12-2, 1 NC)
Bellator Light Heavyweight Feature Bout: Virgil Zwicker (14-4-1) vs. Brian Rogers (11-8)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Adam Piccolotti (6-0) vs. Mario Soto (6-1)
Preliminary Card (Spike.com):
Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: A.J. McKee (2-0) vs. JT Donaldson (1-0)
Bellator Welterweight Feature Bout: James Terry (16-8) vs. Mauricio Alonso (10-7)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Thomas Diagne (5-4-1) vs. Erick Sanchez (5-2)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: J.J. Okanovich (1-1) vs. Frank Sanchez (1-1)
Bellator Bantamweight Feature Bout: Alvin Cacdac (15-11) vs. Jeremiah Labiano (8-3)
Bellator Bantamweight Feature Bout: Jose Perez (1-0) vs. Bronson Mohika (0-1)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Adin Duenas (2-1) vs. Anthony Taylor (Debut)
Bellator Flyweight Feature Bout: Anthony Do (2-0) vs. Dustin Moore (Debut)