The ninth season of Belltor MMA will begin in September and the promotion has announced that the next lightweight tournament will begin at Bellator 101 on September 27th at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland.
Tickets for Bellator 101 will go on sale Friday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT and can be purchased by visiting the Rose Garden Arena Box Office.
All of the quarterfinal bouts will take place on the main card of Bellator 101 and the matchups will be Marcus Davis (22-9) vs. Alexander Sarnavskiy (23-1), Will Brooks (10-1) vs. John Alessio (34-16), Saad Awad (14-5) vs. Martin Stapelton (12-1) and Rob Sinclair (12-2) vs. Rich Clementi (45-22-1).
While this will be the first Bellator tournament for Davis, Alessio, Stapelton and Sinclair, Sarnavskiy, Brooks, Awad and Clementi have already been through the tournament process in Bellator prreviously. Awad was a finalist in the most recent lightweight tournament in season eight and is looking forward to showing the MMA world the new tools he has in his arsenal.
“Bellator always brings top tier athletes from around the world and I’m excited that I get to be a part of this upcoming tournament again,” Awad said. “I’ve added a few things to my arsenal and I can’t wait to showcase them and put on a great show.”
Brooks was a semifinalist in the last tournament as he was defeated by Awad. He will be on next week’s Bellator 97 preliminary card in New Mexico and is looking to secure a title shot in the upcoming season.
“I just want to get back in the winner circle,” Brooks said. “I have some unfinished business from last season and I am going to keep it simple, to the point and devastating for every fight. I need and want the belt and I am going to take it from whoever has it, but I am hoping it will be Michael Chandler.”
The current Bellator 101 card is below and stay tuned for more fight announcements for this upcoming card.
Marcus Davis (22-9) vs. Tiger Sarnavskiy (23-1)
Will Brooks (10-1) vs. John Alessio (34-16)
Saad Awad (14-5) vs. Martin Stapelton (12-1)
Rob Sinclair (12-2) vs. Rich Clementi (45-22-1)