Bellator
Eric made his Bellator debut in April 2011 at Bellator 40 where he defeated Josh Burns via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at the end of round two.[1] The fight took place on the MTV2 live broadcast.[2]
Prindle entered into the Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tournament.[3] His first fight was against Abe Wagner on October 1, 2011, at Bellator 52. Prindle won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.
In the semifinal round, Prindle faced Ron Sparks at Bellator 56 and needed to just 40 seconds to KO him in order to advance to the finals.
Prindle faced Thiago Santos in the finals held at Bellator 59. The bout was ruled a No Contest after Santos kicked Prindle in the groin at 1:24 of the first round and Prindle was unable to continue.[4]
Prindle and Santos were scheduled to have a rematch at Bellator 61 on March 16, 2012.[5] However, on March 15, Bellator announced the fight had been pushed back a week to Bellator 62 due to Prindle having "flu-like symptoms."[6] A week later at the Bellator 62 weigh-ins, Santos weighed in 12 pounds overweight for the rescheduled rematch and the bout was called off.[7] Prindle was announced as the Season Five Heavyweight Tournament Winner.
Prindle competed in the Bellator Season Seven Heavyweight Tournament, where he faced Thiago Santos in their long-awaited rematch in the quarter-finals at Bellator 75.[8] Prindle would be disqualified after kicking Santos in the groin.
Prindle was expected to fight Brett Rogers at Bellator 93 on March 21, 2013. However, the bout was cancelled when Prindle pulled out.[9]
In Prindle's next bout with Bellator, he faced Australian Peter Graham at Bellator 104. Prindle lost a hard-fought unanimous decision.[10]
Prindle next fought Javy Ayala at Bellator 111 on March 7, 2014. He lost the fight via TKO at 2:05 in the third round.[11]
Prindle's next fight was against PRIDE veteran James Thompson at Bellator 121 on June 6, 2014. Prindle lost via TKO in the first round.[12]
On June 25, 2014, it was announced that Prindle was released from the promotion, along with 18 other fighters.[13]
