If you’ve clamored for the names involved in Bellator’s season five heavyweight tournament, you’re in luck. The promotion released the matchups for the tournament today, and, despite the “dominating” 73-15-2 combined record Bellator noted, none of the announced fighters pose much of a threat to current Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad.
The tournament matchups:
Ron Sparks (7-0) vs. Mark Holata (11-2)
Neil Grove (11-3-1) vs. Mike “300” Hayes (15-4-1)
Thiago “Big Monster” Santos (8-1) vs. Blagoi Ivanov (4-0)
Eric Prindle (7-1) vs. Abe Wagner (10-4)
The recognizable names here are Grove, who lost his only fight in the UFC to Mike Ciesnolevicz at UFC 95, and Abe Wagner, who had his head gashed open to his skull by Jon Madsen on the Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights. Wagner and Thiago Santos are the only two tournament entrants without prior experience in Bellator.
The heavyweight tournament kicks off on October 1 at Bellator 52 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.