Ryan Martinez found out 24 hours ago that he would be replacing Vinicius Spartan against Rich Hale in the semifinal round of the Bellator heavyweight tournament and he took advantage of his opportunity as he stopped Hale by knockout in the first round. 
After a feeling out period that both fighters were figuring out their distance, Martinez took Hale to the ground. Once Martinez was able to get the fight to the ground, he was able to work his ground strikes and get the knockout victory at the 2:19 mark of the opening round.
This is the second straight first round knockout victory for Martinez in Bellator as he defeated Travis Wiuff in 18 seconds at Bellator 93 earlier this year.
Martinez (10-2) now advances to the final of the Bellator Summer Series heavyweight tournament and he will face the winner of Vitaly Minakov vs. Ron Sparks who will fight later tonight.
Bellator 96 Results:
Ryan Martinez def. Rich Hale via KO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:19
Justin McNally def. Steven Artoff via verbal submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:44
Derek Campos def. Brandon Girtz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brandon Halsey def. Joe Yager via split decision (30-28, 28-30, 30-28)