Martinez (photo via Bellator.com)

By FCF Staff

One day before Bellator is set to begin its summer series heavyweight tourney, the promotion has announced that Ryan Martinez is replacing Vincius Queiroz. “Spartan” has reportedly been forced to withdraw due to a knee injury, and now Martinez will fight Richard Hale in the tourney’s semifinals.

Martinez is coming off a decision win over Manny Lara, and a quick knockout win over Travis Wiuff, after losing by split decision to Mike Wessel last August.

“I’m looking at this opportunity as a blessing,” Martinez (9-2) was quoted saying in a press release from the promotion. “Rich is a very qualified and tough guy, but I’m ready. I’ve been training with King Mo and Roy Nelson over the last few months, so I basically went through a normal training camp and haven’t stopped training. This is a huge chance for me, and I’m ready.”

Hale (21-5-1), meanwhile, advanced to the finals of Bellator’s last heavyweight tournament in December, but lost by unanimous decision to Alexander Volkov.

Tomorrow’s card will be hosted by the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, and will be broadcast on SPIKE.

MAIN CARD:

Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament: King Mo Lawal (9-2) vs. Seth Petruzelli (14-7)

Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament: Renato “Babalu” Sobral (37-10) vs. Jacob Noe (11-2)

Bellator Heavyweight Tournament: Ryan Martinez (9-2) vs. Rich Hale (21-5)

Bellator Heavyweight Tournament: Vitaly Minakov (10-0) vs. Ron Sparks (8-1)

Welterweight Feature Fight: War Machine (12-4) vs. Blas Avena (8-6)

PRELIMINARY CARD:

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Justin McNally (1-1) vs. Steven Artoff (5-1)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Brandon Girtz (8-2) vs. Derek Campos (10-3)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Brandon Halsey (3-0) vs. Joe Yaeger (5-1)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Jeremiah O’Neal vs. Raphael Butler (5-0)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Keith Miner (5-4) vs. Damon Jackson (4-0)

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Mike Maldonado (4-0) vs. Chavous Smith (2-3)

Middleweight Feature Fight: Keith Berry (14-10) vs. Cortez Coleman (9-3)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Jarrod Card (13-6) vs. Chas Skelly (10-0)