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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad has an opponent for his first non-title appearance for the organization, as ESPN's Josh Gross revealed on Twitter that Konrad will meet Paul Buentello at one of Bellator's April events.
Konrad, the two-time NCAA D-1 wrestling champion from the University of Minnesota and training partner of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, moved his record to 7-0 during Bellator's third season. Defeating Rogent Lloret and Damian Grabowski to get to the season three tournament final, Konrad became the first Bellator Heavyweight Champ with a first round keylock submission over Neil Grove.
Buentello enters the Bellator cage for the first time off a decision win over Kerry Schall in December at the plagued Nemesis Fighting event in the Dominican Republic. That win was a bounce back for Buentello after a KO loss to Tim Sylvia last summer. The former UFC Heavyweight Title challenger will mark the most experienced opponent Konrad has faced with over 40 fights to his credit.
Penick's Analysis: This is a good non-title fight for Konrad to take. He's still really young in his career, but his wrestling ability will allow him to compete with a lot of guys. Buentello may not be a top level fighter in 2011, but he's a very experienced veteran who will present some challenges to Konrad. However, if he's good as he's shown so far, Konrad should be able to pick up that win.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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