Bellator 98 gets middleweight tourney, including Cooper-Spang, Cramer-Filkins

Bellator MMA’s Season 9 middleweight tournament gets underway on Sept. 7 with Brett Cooper vs. Andreas Spang, Dan Cramer vs. Perry Filkins, Mikkel Parlo vs. Brian Rogers, and Jason Butcher vs. Giva Santana.

Bellator officials today announced that all four of those opening-round contests take place at Bellator 98, which takes place Sept. 7 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

As with all of Bellator’s events, the evening’s main card airs on Spike TV. The four tournament bouts join previously announced bouts of champ Alexander Shlemenko vs. Doug Marshall and a bantamweight tourney bout of Joe Warren vs. Nick Kirk on the evening’s special three-hour main-card broadcast.

Cooper (19-8 MMA, 6-3 BFC) returns to action after earning his way into Bellator’s Season 8 middleweight tournament before being eliminated by Marshall, who fights for the belt on the same card.

“I’m always proud to compete for Bellator,” Cooper stated. “My goal is same as last time, to win the tournament and get the belt. I have made improvements since my last fight, and I’m looking forward to showing what I can do in front of the audience on Spike TV.”

He meets Spang (8-2 MMA, 1-2 BFC), who was been unsuccessful in two previous tournament runs for the promotion.

Cramer (10-4 MMA, 7-2 BFC) has competed for the promotion since 2010 but entered his first tournament in Season 8, when he advanced to the semifinals before losing by TKO to Cooper.

“I am privileged to be fighting in another Bellator tournament, and I am anxious to put my training to test,” Cramer stated. “I started off strong in the Season 8 tournament, and I had the chance to show people what I can bring to the cage, and I will continue to prove that I am one of the top middleweights in the game.”

He meets “Filthy” Filkins (7-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC), who enters his first Bellator tournament after debuting successfully for the promotion this past November.

Parlo (9-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC), a Danish fighter, made his promotional debut this past October with a knockout win over Jared Combs. He returned in February, where he was handed the first loss of his professional career. He faces Rogers (10-5 MMA, 3-3 BFC), who enters his fourth Bellator tournament.

Butcher (6-0 MMA, 3-0 BFC), while undefeated, is the least experienced of the eight tournament competitors. Still, he’s already fought three times under the Bellator MMA banner and earned first-round submission wins in all three outings. He faces Santana (18-2 MMA, 2-1 BFC), a submission ace known as “The Arm Collector” for his 13 career armbar wins.

With the additions to the card, the Bellator 98 lineup now includes:

• Alexander Shlemenko vs. Doug Marshall – for middleweight title
• Joe Warren vs. Nick Kirk – bantamweight tournament opening round
• Brett Cooper vs. Andreas Spang – Season 9 middleweight tournament opening round
• Dan Cramer vs. Perry Filkins – Season 9 middleweight tournament opening round
• Mikkel Parlo vs. Brian Rogers – Season 9 middleweight tournament opening round
• Jason Butcher vs. Giva Santana – Season 9 middleweight tournament opening round

For more on Bellator 98, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Brian Rogers)