On Sept. 26, 2014, Bellator MMA headed to Phoenix for Bellator 126. The main event of the card was a Middleweight title fight between champion Alexander Shlemenko and Brandon Halsey. Dethroning the champion, Halsey submitted Shlemenko in the first round to become the new Middleweight champion.

The event also saw the conclusion of the Season 10 Lightweight tournament, where Marcin Held beat Patricky Freire by decision. Meanwhile, Bubba Jenkins picked up a win over Thiago Meller, Derek Camps TKO’d Estevan Payan, and Brandon Girtz opened the card with a TKO of Benny Madrid.