Bellator 158 still hunting for 'MVP' opponent with Fernando Gonzalez out

Bellator 158 "Kimbo vs. Thompson 2" comes to O2 Arena in London, England, on July 16, 2016. The headline fight is a heavyweight rematch between Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and James "The Colossus" Thompson, a bout Slice originally won in EliteXC back in 2008.

Bellator loaded up the card with promising fights featuring local favorites, including two welterweight contests pitting Paul "Semtex" Daley against Josh Koscheck and the flashy Michael "Venom" Page against Fernando Gonzalez.

The latter fight is now in limbo.

Bellator officials confirmed Gonzalez was unavailable but are currently seeking a replacement opponent for Page. The two were booked for Bellator 151 and that fight fell apart as well.

After that report circulated for a few hours online Gonzalez spoke to The MMA Report and decided to clear the air on why he's not going to London.

"About a week or two ago, they just called me up and informed me that they were getting all of my paperwork together for my visa. Things in the past that had happened, but everything is expunged off my record for three or four years now. But obviously, you have to let them know. We let them know and they came back to me and said I would not possibly get in because of those problems. And I said well that is strange. There are people that get into the country with bad things like felonies and everything has been expunged off my record. There is absolutely nothing on my record now. So it seemed kind of weird to me when they told me that but I was like 'ok, I will go with it and see what's going to happen.' They just got back to me and let me know that the chances of me fighting out there were not going to happen."

Gonzalez says he's healthy and in title contention with or without the Page fight.

"I am not injured at all. I am ready to go. I do not want anyone thinking that. For me, I am just going to go with whatever they want and hopefully I get that title shot in October."

Meanwhile the undefeated Page desperately needs a new opponent after running through Jeremie Holloway at Bellator 153. It's high time for that undefeated record (10-0) to truly be tested.

The updated Bellator 158 card is below.

Bellator 158 "Kimbo vs. Thompson II" (Spike TV):

Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson
Welterweight: Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck
Welterweight: Michael Page vs. TBA
Light Heavyweight: Francis Carmont vs. Linton Vassell
Heavyweight: Mark Godbeer vs. James Mulheron

Bellator 158 "Prelims" (Spike.com):

Middleweight: Lee Chadwick vs. Bola Omoyele
Middleweight: Alex Reid vs. TBD
Middleweight: Mike Shipman vs. Chris Widmer
Flyweight: Spencer Hewitt vs. Pietro Menga
Bantamweight: Dean Garnett vs. Luiz Tosta
Middleweight: Jack Mason vs. Jason Radcliffe
Featherweight: Chase Morton vs. Nathaniel Wood
Middleweight: C.J. Meeks vs. Danny Mitchell

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