By Ryan Young
There may be a new night and starting time for Bellator’s 2013 “Summer Series” shows, but the opening event of the series will feature some familiar faces.
Bellator 96 is the first “Summer Series” event of the year and it takes place at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., with the five-fight main card airing on Spike TV beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Taking centre stage are all four opening-round semifinal matchups in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight 2013 “Summer Series” four-man tournaments.
Here’s a look at how the main card could play out…
Main Event
2013 ‘Summer Series’ Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal bout (205-pounds)
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (9-2 1nc, 1-1 Bellator) vs. Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli (14-7, 1-1 Bellator)
Ok, let’s try this again.
Lawal was brought into Bellator just prior to the move to Spike TV and signed a deal that would allow him to potentially serve as the face of the organization while doubling as a professional wrestler on the network’s TNA wrestling promotion.
The 32-year-old received a passing grade for his early appearances in the squared circle – it was inside the cage where he struggled.
After opening his Bellator run with a first-round knockout of little known Przemyslaw Mysiala, the former Strikeforce champion was stunned by Emanuel Newton with a spinning back-fist that left “King Mo” unconscious and eliminated in the semifinals of his first tournament attempt.
His opponent Petruzelli, 33, suffered a similar fate in his first Bellator tournament.
A former UFC fighter known mostly for his 14-second knockout of Kimbo Slice in EliteXC five years ago, Petruzelli won his first two bouts outside of Zuffa including a first-round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez in his Bellator debut in August 2011. “The Silverback” then came up short in his quarter-final fight with Jacob Noe in January pointing to an injured knee as the cause for his first-round TKO loss.
It shouldn’t matter whether or not that knee has fully healed or not as a humbled and motivated Lawal should use his high-level wrestling to put Pretuzelli on his back and pound out a stoppage victory.
Winner: Lawal via second-round TKO stoppage.
2013 ‘Summer Series’ Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal bout (205-pounds)
Jacob “The Psycho” Noe (11-2 1nc, 2-1 Bellator) vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (37-10)
“King Mo” wasn’t the only former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion to suffer a first-round knockout loss in this winter’s tournament, so did aging Brazilian warrior “Babalu”.
The 37-year-old veteran was stopped in his Bellator debut and quarter-final matchup with Mikhail Zayats, no small feat for Zayats considering the elite the list of men who have topped Sobral. Now, with father time now fighting against him and five knockout losses on his resume, “Babalu” has the opportunity to show he still has some fight in him with just two victories holding him back from a Bellator title shot.
Standing in his way first is the well-rounded Jacob Noe who just had his nine-fight winning streak ended by the same man who spoiled Sobral’s Bellator debut. Noe’s loss to Zayats, a first-round submission, came after the 32-year-old upset Petruzelli in his quarter-final matchup. A deadly finisher with 10 of his 11 wins coming via stoppage, Noe has the chance to one-up his career best victory over Petruzelli by taking out the Brazilian MMA mainstay.
If ever there was a time for a judge to sneak off to the bathroom with hopes of not having to render a scorecard at the end of a bout, this is it. Sobral has gone to a decision just once in his last 17 outings, the same amount as Noe has in his career.
So yeah, someone is going down.
While the concerns over the chin and accumulative damage “Babalu” has taken over the years is valid and discerning, if he can take the fight to the ground without getting hurt in the process a submission against Noe isn’t a reach.
Winner: Sobral via first-round submission.
2013 ‘Summer Series’ Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal bout (265-pounds)
Richard “Rare Breed” Hale (21-5-1, 6-2 Bellator) vs. Ryan Martinez (9-2, 2-1 Bellator)
Every time Richard Hale enters a Bellator tournament he gets a little bit closer to winning.
In Season 4, he was stopped in the light heavyweight tourney final by Christian M’Pumbu. Last year, he lasted 25 minutes in the Season 7 heavyweight finals with current champion Alexander Volkov.
Both those contests also happened to be for Bellator titles, a position the 28-year-old Hale would love to get back into.
This time around he’ll have to deal with a last second opponent change.
“Rare Breed” was originally scheduled to face Vinicius Queiroz until it was announced on Tuesday a knee injury had forced him out of the bout. That meant tournament reserve Ryan Martinez, who has been training in case of something like this, jumps in last minute.
The 25-year-old Martinez is coming off an 18-second knockout of veteran Travis Wiuff, his second Bellator win in a row and seventh of eight fights overall.
At a little less than six-feet tall and weighing-in just under the 265-pound limit, Martinez is a fire hydrant compared to the six-foot-four 245-pound Hale. This will make it hard for Hale to land any takedowns, but if he uses his movement well he should be able to outwork Martinez on the feet and tire him out. It sounds like a terrible idea predicting a fighter coming off a bout with Volkov where he looked extremely tired, but for some reason I still think his cardio will prove the difference against Martinez.
Winner: Hale via unanimous decision.
2013 ‘Summer Series’ Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal bout (265-pounds)
Vitaly “The New Emperor” Minakov (10-0, 1-0 Bellator) vs. Ron “The Monster” Sparks (8-1, 3-1 Bellator)
It wouldn’t be a Bellator tournament without some rising Russian talent.
Dubbed by some as the new Fedor, the undefeated Minakov showed flashes of why during a second-round TKO victory over Vladimir Starcencov in his Bellator debut in November. It was only the second time the 28-year-old has been to a second round and just one of his 10 career bouts have gone the distance. “The New Emperor” is a Black Belt in judo and world Sambo champion.
He’ll be making his Bellator tournament debut against hard-hitting Kentucky native Ron Sparks.
Sparks, 38, has fought for a combined 5:12 in four Bellator appearances. The last time the explosive striker competed was back in October 2011 when he lost to Eric Prindle in the Season 5 heavyweight tourney semifinals. At six-foot-five inches tall and using every pound of the allotted 266 pounds, “The Monster” is one of the more physically intimating looking fighters out there.
He’ll only have a puncher’s chance against a much more well-rounded opponent in Minakov, though. That’s not to say he can’t find the button and put the Russian to sleep with one punch- just don’t expect it. Minakov either picks his shots carefully on the feet or looks for a takedown and submission. I’ll go with the former.
Winner: Minakov first-round TKO stoppage.
Welterweight bout (170-pounds)
Blas “The Disciple” Avena (8-6 1nc, 1-0 Bellator) vs. War Machine (12-4, 0-0 Bellator)
After multiple stints in prison and a serious injury to his knee and leg kept War Machine (formerly Jon Koppenhaver) out of the Bellator cage, the world’s worst role model will finally make his Bellator debut.
The 31-year-old has showed signs of talent during his turmoil laced MMA career, including in his last fight, a third-round TKO over Roger Huerta in November 2011. It’s impossible to know where he’s at now given his extended absence and the fact he’s coming off a torn ACL and broken fibula.
Luckily for him he won’t be facing Georges St-Pierre in his return to the cage.
Avena needed only 1:40 to TKO Lenny Lovato in his Bellator debut in February. The only problem is it was just his second win in his last seven fights. And it was against Lenny Lovato.
The 29-year-old southpaw did put together a 3-3 record in the WEC, I’m just not sure how much he’s improved since then.
My bet is War Machine has to shake off some rust but uses his wrestling to work his way to a decision and earn a spot in the next welterweight tournament.
You know, assuming he maintains his freedom long enough to do so.
Winner: War Machine via unanimous decision.
Season 8 Results: 33-15 overall record, 69 per cent.
Ryan Young is a regular contributor to Sportsnet.ca’s MMA section. Follow him on Twitter @RyanYoung4444.
