A headliner between ex-lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez and Patricky "Pitbull" Freire is now bolstered by the Season 7 featherweight tournament's opening round at Bellator 76.
Officials today announced a field of eight set to compete at the event, which takes place Oct. 12 at Caesars Windsor Hotel & Casino in Ontario, Canada.
Matchups include Rad Martinez (12-2, 2-0 BFC) vs. Nazareno Malegarie (22-2, 1-2 BFC), Akop Stepanyan (12-3, 0-0 BFC) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (14-3, 0-0 BFC), Mike Richman (12-1, 1-0 BFC) vs. Jeremy Spoon (12-1, 2-1 BFC), and Shahbulat Shamhalaev (9-1-1, 0-0 BFC) vs. Cody Bollinger (13-2-1, 0-0 BFC).
The night's main card, including Alavarez vs. Freire, airs on MTV2 (and in high-definition on EPIX) following prelims on Spike.com.
Martinez makes his Bellator tournament debut on the strength of a three-fight win streak, including two successful outings for the promotion in non-tourney bouts. The Utah native, who first came to notice with as the subject of an ESPN special on his relationship with is disabled father, holds a notable win over UFC vet Joe Brammer.
Malegarie makes his third tournament appearance following an unsuccessful run in the Summer Series' featherweight competition, where he lost in the semifinals to eventual finalist Marlon Sandro, and season 4, where he lost to future tourney champ Daniel Straus.
Stepanyan brings an impressive win streak into the Bellator cage, having won his past 12 outings after going 0-3 at the start of his pro career. Five of the Armenian's wins come in the first round, and he boasts six wins by KO/TKO.
Of this season's competitors, Fabiano boasts the most big-show experience, though an extended layoff puts an asterisk beside his accomplishments. His most recent fight came in November 2010 at WEC 52, where he submitted to current UFC challenger Joseph Benavidez. The Brazilian, however, holds notable wins over Ian Loveland, Akitoshi Tamura and Fredson Paixao.
Richman makes his much-anticipated tournament debut after a stunning first-round KO of WEC vet Chris Horodecki at Bellator 64. The win improved his current win streak to three after his first career setback, a split decision loss in 2011 on the regional circuit that snapped a nine-fight streak.
Spoon returns to Bellator following a loss to season 6 champ Daniel Straus, which served as his first pro setback following 12 straight wins.
M-1 vet Shamhalaev makes his tourney debut on the strength of a seven-fight win streak interrupted by a single draw.
The Joe Stevenson-trained Bollinger makes his Bellator debut having just two official setbacks in his pro career (a submission loss to UFC vet Din Thomas was overturned for unknown reasons). He holds a notable win over UFC vet Cameron Dollar.
Source: Bellator 76 hosts featherweight tourney, Rad Martinez makes tourney debut