The Bellator summer bantamweight tournament will conclude on Oct. 4 in Visalia, Calif., with Anthony Leone (13-4) facing Rafael “Morcego” Silva (20-3).
The date of the tournament final was confirmed Friday by the promotion.
The winner of the bout, which airs live on Spike TV, would be the next contender for champion Eduardo Dantas barring an injury.
Leone, who has a strong jiu jitsu background, defeated former Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky on Dec. 7. He followed it up by winning his first match in the four-man summer tournament, over Frank Baca, via rear-naked choke at 1:07 of the third round on July 31 in Rio Rancho, N.M. The win was Leone’s fourth straight.
Silva brings a 12-fight winning streak into the show in Central California. He had a similar finish, a win via rear-naked choke over Rodrigo Lima at 2:03 of the third round, in his first tournament bout and his Bellator debut, on the same July 31 show.
Silva brings an impressive balanced attack with 17 finishes in his 20 wins, with nine coming via submission and eight by knockout. He’s had 12 wins come in the first round, including a 2009 win over current UFC contender John Lineker.