Newport Beach, CA. (February 12, 2013) – After suffering a hand injury in his Bellator Lightweight Quarterfinal victory, Tiger Sarnavskiy will be replaced in the Season 8 Lightweight Tournament by Michigan native Jason “The Finisher” Fischer. The Lightweight Tournament continues February 28th from New Mexico’s Santa Ana Star Center.
Tickets for the event are on sale and range from $25-$90. Tickets can be purchased at ComcastTix.com, Bellator.com or by visiting The Santa Ana Star Center box office. The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 8 p.m. MST on Spike, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. MST.
If getting a chance to fight for a $100,000 Tournament prize wasn’t enough, Fischer will now have the chance to avenge the only loss of his young career as the submission ace will meet David “The Caveman” Rickels in semifinal action. The two met in November of 2012, with Rickels escaping with a unanimous decision win.
“This is a huge opportunity for me,” Fischer said. “I feel like I’ve put in a ton of hard work and this is the time for all that work to pay off. You never like to see any fighter go down with an injury, but when the phone call came in, I jumped at the opportunity. My loss to Rickels still bothers me, and I’m looking to wipe the slate clean with a big win on February 28th.”
The night will also feature the undefeated Will Brooks taking on the explosive Saad Awad for a spot in the Bellator Lightweight Tournament Finals, while reigning Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Christian M’Pumbu battles Attila Vegh for the title.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator