The 2013 Bellator MMA Summer Series will begin on June 19th at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma and the card will be headlined by a title fight and the start of the next light heavyweight tournament.
The main card on Spike TV will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Spike TV and will be headlined by Michael Chandler defending the Bellator lightweight title against season seven tournament winner Dave Jansen.
Chandler (11-0) recently told TheMMAReport.com that he wanted to fight next on the Summer Series and he is excited to be headlining the first fight card of the Summer Series.
“I’m excited to get back in the cage and defend the belt against a tough guy like Jansen,” Chandler said. “He’s proven to be a very tough and durable competitor. My plan is the same as every fight, which is to show up new and improved and collect another dominant finish for the fans.”
Jansen (19-2) won the season seven lightweight tournament in March against Marcin Held and he will be looking to make the champion feel uncomfortable in the cage on June 19th.
“I really want this fight to be an absolute grind and make Mike as uncomfortable as possible inside that cage,” Jansen said. “I’ve been known in my career to really be able to weather the storm and I really feel like I get stronger inside the cage as the fight goes on, and I’m really looking forward to having that full 25 minutes to work with and take this fight in deep waters. This is just an incredible opportunity for me and would a huge validation on my career to become a Bellator World Champion.”
The main card on Spike TV will also feature the opening round of the Summer Series four man light heavyweight tournament and the opening round matchups are Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (9-2, 1NC) vs. Seth Petruzelli (14-7) and Renato “Babalu” Sobral (37-10) vs. Jacob Noe (11-2).
All four tournament fighters were in the season eight tournament earlier this year as Lawal and Noe made it to the semifinal round and Babalu and Petruzelli were eliminated in the opening round.
Lawal will be considered the favorite to win this tournament, but he knows that Petruzelli is a tough opponent and will be looking to deliver a “straight Mortal Kombat style fatality.”
“Seth has been in this game for a long time and has beaten guys like Kimbo, Ricco Rodriguez and Dan Severn so this fight is going to be tough, but I’ve been working my ass off in the gym with Jeff Mayweather and my team and I’m ready to get another win under my belt,” Lawal said. “Point blank, I’m looking to deliver a straight Mortal Kombat style fatality to Seth.”
Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting the WinStar World Casino Box Office, with tickets starting at just $45 dollars.
The current Bellator 96 card is below:
Michael Chandler (11-0) vs. Dave Jansen (19-2)
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (9-2, 1NC) vs. Seth Petruzelli (14-7)
Renato “Babalu” Sobral (37-10) vs. Jacob Noe (11-2)
Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver (12-4) vs. Blas Avena (8-6)