The final show of the 2013 Bellator Summer Series will take place on July 31st from New Mexico and will feature two title fights, two tournament finals and the beginning of the next bantamweight tournament.
Bellator 97 will come from the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and the main card will air on Spike TV beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
The preliminary card will be streamed live on Spike.com and will feature the beginning of the next bantamweight tournament with the matchups being Rafael Silva (19-3) vs. Rodrigo Lima (11-1) and Anthony Leone (12-5) vs. Frank Baca (16-2).
The main card on Spike TV will be headlined by Michael Chandler (11-0) defending the Bellator lightweight title David Rickels (14-1) and Ben Askren (11-0) will defend the Bellator welterweight title against Andrey Koreschkov (13-0). Also, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (10-2, 1NC) faces Jacob Noe (12-2) in the light heavyweight tournament final and Ryan Martinez (10-2) meets Vitaly Minakov (11-0) in the heavyweight tournament final.
The current Bellator 97 card is below:
Main Card: (Spike TV – 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
Michael Chandler (11-0) vs. David Rickels (14-1) – LW Title
Ben Askren (11-0) vs. Andrey Koreschkov (13-0) – WW Title
Muhammed Lawal (10-2, 1NC) vs. Jacob Noe (12-2) – LHW Tourney Final
Ryan Martinez (10-2) vs. Vitaly Minakov (11-0) – HW Tourney Final
Patricio Pitbull (17-2) vs. Jared Downing (9-2)
Preliminary Card: (Bellator.com – 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
Cris Leyva (9-5) vs. Will Brooks (9-1)
Rafael Silva (19-3) vs. Rodrigo Lima (11-1) – BW Tourney Semifinal
Anthony Leone (12-5) vs. Frank Baca (16-2) – BW Tourney Semifinal
Mike Barreras (5-6) vs. Bubba Jenkins (3-0)
Javier Palacios (1-0) vs. Richard Jacques (1-0)
Jeremy Kimball (9-3) vs. Keith Berry (15-10)
Adrian Cruz (4-0) vs. Felipe Chavez (5-3)
Steve Garcia (1-0) vs. Shawn Bunch (1-0)