Bellator MMA previously announced that the Summer Series will begin on June 19th in Oklahoma with a title fight and opening round bouts of the next light heavyweight tournament.
The California based organization has announced today that the opening round of the heavyweight tournament will also begin on the June 19th card with the opening round bouts being Vinicius Queiroz (6-3) vs. Rich Hale (21-5) and Vitaly Minakov (10-0) vs. Ron Sparks (8-1).
Both of the heavyweight opening round tournament bouts will be on Spike TV and the main card broadcast will be three hours long and begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Bellator 96 will be headlined by Michael Chandler (11-0) defending the Bellator lightweight title against Dave Jansen (19-2) and tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting the WinStar World Casino Box Office, with tickets starting at just $45 dollars.
“This event is insanely stacked, and it’s the reason we are making this a jam packed three hour show,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “With a Lightweight Title fight, Mo, Babalu, War Machine and the start of our heavyweight tournament, this is going to be an amazing show start to finish on Spike.”
Following the event, Spike will air the premier of Fight Master: Bellator MMA, which features 32 of the best welterweight fighters on the planet as they compete for a spot in the Bellator MMA Tournament and a $100,000 prize.
The Bellator 96 fight card is below:
Main Card: (Spike TV – 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
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) *
Vinicius Queiroz (6-3) vs. Rich Hale (21-5) **
Vitaly Minakov (10-0) vs. Ron Sparks (8-1) **
War Machine (12-4) vs. Blas Avena (8-6)
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com – 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT)
Brandon Halsey (3-0) vs. Mike Brown (3-1)
Justin McNally (1-1) vs. Steven Artoff (5-1)
Keith Miner (5-4) vs. Damon Jackson (4-0)
Mike Maldonado (4-0) vs. Jason Sampson (10-1)
Brandon Girtz (8-2) vs. TBA (0-0)
Keith Berry (14-10) vs. Cortez Coleman (9-3)
* – Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal
** – Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal