Matt Mitrione vs. Ryan Bader set for Bellator heavyweight grand prix semifinal bout on Oct. 12

The date is set for the first semifinal matchup of the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix.

Matt Mitrione (13-5) and Ryan Bader (25-5) will fight at a Bellator event on Oct. 12 at the Mohegun Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The winner will go on to the finals of the tournament where he will face the winner of the other semifinal matchup, either Chael Sonnen or Fedor Emelianenko.

Bellator officially announced the date on Tuesday:

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Bellator MMA

✔@BellatorMMA

The Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix returns October 12th!

Semi-finalists @mattmitrione and light heavyweight champ @ryanbader face off at @MoheganSun to decide who will advance to the #BellatorWGP finals!

Exclusive online pre-sale this Thursday.

12:00 AM – Jul 11, 2018

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Mitrione is unbeaten in four Bellator contests since joining the promotion in June 2016. He defeated his first three opponents by knockout, including Emelianenko, before winning a rematch with one-time UFC foe Roy Nelson via majority decision in the opening round of the Bellator grand prix.

Like Mitrione, Bader also has a perfect Bellator record since coming over from the UFC. In his Bellator debut, he defeated Phil Davis a second time to capture the promotion’s light heavyweight championship and successfully defended it once before joining the grand prix. Bader needed just 15 seconds to finish Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal via strikes in their quarterfinal matchup in May.

The date for the Emelianenko-Sonnen matchup is still to be determined.