Bellator’s inaugural season comes to a close with “Bellator XII” on Friday, June 19, 2009, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., the same location the 12-week tournament started on April 3. PRO MMA (promma.info) received the full details on Wednesday.

Headlining the event will be the Bellator Lightweight and Middleweight Championship fights. The lightweight title fight features Philadelphia Fight Factory’s Eddie Alvarez taking on submission-of-the-year candidate Toby Imada,

In the Middleweight title fight, former Olympic Judoka Hector Lombard will face off against the Oklahoma All-American wrestler Jared Hess.

Winners of each championship fight will receive $100,000 in grand prize money, not to mention the $50,000 they won in the semi-finals, and the $25,000 they won in the quarter-finals; not bad jack for a 12-week tournament.

Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney spoke about Bellator’s inaugural season winding down, “Our first season has proven that magical things can happen when fighters are allowed to control their own destiny. As a fan of this spectacular sport it’s been my great pleasure to sit cageside week after week and watch these amazing moments happen over and over again.”

The broadcast event will be featured exclusively in primetime on ESPN Deportes on Saturday, June 20th, with the English language event available Wendsday, June 25th at Bellator.com.

There will also be a number of non-championship fights taking place at “Bellator XII,” including two women’s bouts, featuring such notable names as Jorge Masvidal, Troy Gerhart, Luis Palomino, Rosie Sexton, and Eric Reynolds. Here is the full card line-up:

Lightweight World Championship Final Bout:
155 lbs. – Eddie Alvarez (17-2) vs. Toby Imada (22-12)

Middleweight World Championship Final Bout:
185 lbs. – Hector Lombard (20-2) vs. Jared Hess (8-0-1)

Non-Tournament Bouts:
155 lbs. – Jorge Masvidal (17-4) vs. Eric Reynolds (10-2)
145 lbs. – Sami Aziz (4-0-1) vs. Brad Pickett (16-4)
170 lbs. – Josh Martin (6-2-1) vs. Sergio Morais (3-0)
120 lbs. – Valerie Coolbaugh (1-1) vs. Rosie Sexton (9-1)
155 lbs. – Troy Gerhart (5-0) vs. Luis Palomino (10-5)
140 lbs. – Jennifer Kloptsoff (Pro Debut) vs. Stephanie Guimaraes (0-1)

Tournament contestants in Bellator’s second season will be competing for number one contender status. Season two winners will face the Bellator Champions that were decided in season one. It really is nice to see a system where skill and ability are rewarded, popularity has nothing to do with it, and the champions are the ones who earn their spot.

By:  Jack Bratcher

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