Justin Lawrence vs. Treston Thomison Tops Bellator 181 Preliminary Card

A featherweight showdown between Justin Lawrence and Treston Thomison will serve as the featured preliminary matchup at Bellator 181.

The California-based promotion recently announced the pairing. Additionally, a heavyweight clash between Javy Ayala and Valentin Moldavsky will also take place on the preliminary bill. Bellator 181 takes place at Winstar Casino on July 14 and is headlined by a lightweight rematch between Patricky Freire and Derek Campos. The evening’s main card will air on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while the prelims stream on Bellator.com at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Lawrence, who competed on Season 15 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” is 2-2 under the Bellator banner. The 27-year-old Missouri native last appeared at Bellator 167, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to John Teixeira da Conceicao. “The American Kid” owns a 9-4 professional record overall.

Thomison, meanwhile, is 3-4 over the course of a promotional tenure that began in 2014. The Sulphur, Okla., native is 10-5 as a pro, including eight triumphs via submission.

Ayala is coming off a 16-second knockout of Pride and Strikeforce veteran Sergei Kharitonov in what was one of the biggest upsets of 2016. Ayala has finished all five of his Bellator triumphs inside the distance.

Moldavsky brings a 5-1 record into his Bellator debut. The Russian competed four times for Rizin FF, including a split-decision loss to Amir Aliakbari in his last outing on Dec. 31.