Bellator XCVII is scheduled to take place on July 31, 2013 at the Santa Ana Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The event will be distributed live in prime time by Spike TV.
Fight Card
Main Card (Spike TV)
Lightweight Michael Chandler (c) vs. David Rickels For Lightweight Title
Welterweight Ben Askren (c) vs. Andrey Koreshkov Welterweight Title Fight
Light Heavyweight Muhammed Lawal vs. Jacob Noe Light Heavyweight Tournament Final
Heavyweight Ryan Martinez vs. Vitaly Minakov Heavyweight Tournament Final
Featherweight Patricio Freire vs. Jared Downing
Preliminary Card (Spike.com)
Lightweight Cris Leyva vs. Will Brooks
Bantamweight Rafael Silva vs. Rodrigo Lima Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal
Bantamweight Anthony Leone vs. Frank Baca Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal
Lightweight Bubba Jenkins vs. Mike Barreras
Bantamweight Javier Palacios vs. Richard Jacques
Middleweight Keith Berry vs. Jeremy Kimball
Bantamweight Adrian Cruz vs. Felipe Chavez
Featherweight Cliff Wright Jr. vs. Donald Sanchez
Bantamweight Steve Garcia vs. Shawn Bunch
Background
The card will feature Ben Askren's fourth title defense of the Bellator Welterweight Championship.
Douglas Lima and Ben Saunders were scheduled to fight in order to decide the next contender for the Welterweight title. However, on June 11, it was announced that Lima had to pull out of the bout due to an injury.
Patricio Freire was originally scheduled to face The Ultimate Fighter veteran Rob Emerson. However, on July 12, it was revealed Emerson had to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Jared Downing.
The card will feature the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Tournament Finals.
June 19 - updated fightcard & background
July 12 - updated fightcard & background
July 22 - updated fight card & background