UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Now that the Bellator season nine middleweight tournament is in the books, Bellator’s CEO Bjorn Rebney has tentatively set the semifinal match-ups in place.
“Barring injury — which knock on wood hopefully we don’t have — it’ll be [Brennan] Ward against [Perry] Filkins Oct. 4 in Visalia, California on Spike, and [Jason] Butcher against [Mikkel] Parlo,” he said at the post-fight press conference.
The quarterfinals portion of the bracket were held Saturday night at Bellator 98 at the Mohegan Sun. Brian Rogers, whom Rebney identified as the favorite to win the tournament, was ousted in the first round by the Danish fighter Parlo. Meanwhile, Jason Butcher scored a TKO victory over jiu-jitsu ace Giva Santana, which prompted the veteran to retire afterwards.
In the other quarterfinal fights, Perry Filkins won a spirited battle with Jeremy Kimball via a third-round rear-naked choke, and Brennan Ward beat Justin Torrey via second-round TKO.