The 30-year-old McGivern boasts an overall professional record of 13-6 including wins over UFC veteran Matt Horwich and WEC veteran Dan Molina. A native of Bettendorf, Iowa, he was a four-time letter-winner in wrestling at the University of Iowa.
“With his experience in a top NCAA wrestling program and in the IFL, Ryan McGivern brings some great credentials to our 185 tournament,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “With him and the rest of the middleweights that we’ve signed, I can tell you that there are going to be some very exciting fights beginning next month.”
McGivern is the sixth confirmed participant in Bellator’s eight-man middleweight tournament, joining Bryan “The Beast” Baker, Jared Hess, Sean Loeffler, Matt Major and Eric Schambari. The group boasts a combined overall winning percentage of .829 (68-14).
Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 155 and 170 lbs. during its second season, with the winners in each division being declared No. 1 contenders to Bellator’s current champions. Each of Bellator’s 24 Season 2 and 3 events will be broadcast on FOX Sports Net, NBC, Telemundo and on The Score sports network in Canada.
Though McGivern has not taken a professional fight in more than a year, he has maintained a full-time training regimen at the Miletich Fighting Systems camp in Iowa, while also working full-time as a procurement specialist for the U.S. Department of Defense. He calls Bellator “the next major step in my career.”
“I had the chance to watch a lot of the Bellator fights last year, and it’s just an awesome promotion,” he said. “Getting in the tournament is just an incredible opportunity for me. Being on TV and being matched up against some really great fighters is extra motivation to be at the top of my game. I just can’t wait to get into the cage.”
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