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Coming off of a successful debut on pay-per-view, Bellator is kicking off the 2013 Summer Series with a vastly changed card. The event will be headlined by a heavyweight division clash between Eric Prindle and James Thompson. There are seven fights airing on the preliminary card, including an opening round bout in the light heavyweight tournament.
Kicking off the action is a welterweight division fight as Guillermo “Cubano†Martinez Ayme (6-0-0-1NC) competes against William Florentino (4-3-0). Ayme will be making his Bellator debut in this fight and he is a veteran of the Shooto Brazil promotion. Florentino will make his Bellator debut on a three fight losing streak and he has not won a fight in almost five years. Ayme has a lot of hype heading into his promotional debut and he will defeats the vastly overmatched Florentino.
A pair of featherweights will collide next as Steve “Mean Machine†Garcia (3-0-0) does battle against Cody Walker (0-0-0). Garcia has already competed once under the Bellator banner, having defeated Shawn Bunch at Bellator 105. Walker will be making his professional MMA debut in this fight, but he did go undefeated as an amateur. Garcia has been steamrolling through the competition thus far in his career and he will remain undefeated as he spoils the pro debut of Walker.
Middleweight division action will be happening next as Bubba “The Menace†McDaniel (21-8-0) is in action against Matt Jones (5-7-0). McDaniel will be competing for the first time since his UFC release, which came after a loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 171. Jones has only won one of his last five fights, with that lone win coming over Jerome Domengeaux at Absolute Fighting Championships 21. McDaniel is a far superior fighter when compared to Jones and he will cruise to a victory in his first post-UFC bout.
We move to the light heavyweight division for the next fight as Jamelle Jones (2-1-0) dukes it out with Ray Sloan (6-0-0). Jones will enter the fight on a two fight winning streak and he has spent his whole career until this point in the Cage Fury Fighting Championships promotion. Sloan will also be making his Bellator debut in this fight and only one of his bouts have gone to a decision. Sloan has looked impressive outside of Bellator and he will now look impressive in the promotion as he defeats Jones.
The light heavyweight tournament opening round bout is next as Kelly “Crossface†Anundson (7-2-0) battles Rodney “Sho Nuff The Master†Wallace (21-8-1). Anundson is currently undefeated in Bellator competition, having defeated Volkan Oezdemir at Bellator 115. Wallace is a UFC veteran who will be entering this tournament on the strength of a two fight winning streak. This bout should have been a part of the main card, but it will be Wallace advancing to the semi-finals.
Up next is a middleweight division bout as Cortez “The Crazy Cowboy†Coleman (10-5-0) takes on Joeâ€The Doctor†Vedepo (15-8-0). Jones has won two of four fights under the Bellator banner, most notably defeating Daniel Miller at Bellator 111. Vedepo is a veteran of UFC competition and he has won only one of his last four fights entering this bout. Vedepo has been struggling badly as of late, but his struggles will come to an end as he defeats Coleman in this one.
Headlining this portion of the card is a featherweight division bout as Stephen Banaszak (3-1-0) faces Treston Thomison (7-2-0). Banaszak won the initial meeting between himself and Thomison, which came by submission at Bellator 111. Thomison has won three of his last four fights and he is a longtime veteran of the King Of The Cage promotion. Not much has changed between both fighters since the initial meeting and Banaszak will get the victory again.
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