Bellator XCVI took place on June 19, 2013 at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The event was distributed live in prime time by Spike TV. It marked the season debut of the 2013 summer series. Bellator 96 featured the opening round of the 2013 Summer Series Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight tournaments. This event served as the lead in for the debut of Bellator's new reality TV series, Fight Master: Bellator MMA.
Muhammed Lawal
Seth Petruzelli
Jacob Noe
Renato Sobral
Vitaly Minakov
Ron Sparks
War Machine
Blas Avena
Damon Jackson
Keith Miner
Raphael Butler
Jeremiah O'Neal
Ryan Martinez
Brandon Halsey
Joe Yager
Derek Campos
Brandon Girtz
Justin McNally
Steven Artoff
Chas Skelly
Jarrod Card
Mike Maldonado
Chavous Smith
Keith Berry
Cortez Coleman