CHICAGO, Ill. (February 3, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the singing of seven-time UFC veteran Ben “Killa B” Saunders to its already stacked welterweight roster. Although Saunders will not participate in the upcoming Welterweight Tournament, “Killa B” will make his Bellator debut during Season 4. Bellator Season 4 airs LIVE on MTV2 beginning Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 9 pm.
“Ben Saunders is an exciting, powerful welterweight with explosive knockout power. Ben’s dangerous and always shows up to fight. I’m excited to see his first fight under the Bellator banner on MTV2 in April.” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
A veteran of the sixth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Saunders enters Bellator with a 9-3 professional record, with eight of his nine victories coming by way of knockout, TKO or submission. “Killa B” holds notable victories during his time spent in the UFC over the likes of Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis, Bellator veteran Ryan Thomas, and Brandon Wolff. In his last outing, Saunders scored a decisive first-round submission due to strikes over Elijah Harshbarger last November. With momentum and a wealth of experience on his side, Saunders is eager to face any and all in his path.
“I'm here to test myself against anyone that they throw against me,” said Saunders. “I want to be the best. I want to be a champion, and that's my goal. I'm here to kick some ass, make some money, and take a belt along the way.”
Long before he was recognized as a world class mixed martial artist, Saunders struggled to find a support network for his dream of fighting professionally. At just 14 years of age Saunders took a job at McDonalds to finance his martial arts training. Soon after graduating from high school, the Florida-native found a local gym online which was located in Orlando. Saunders convinced his family that he was attending classes in a community college when in reality he was spending the majority of his time training. However, it was the lack of support and negativity from his family and teachers that motivated Saunders to push further in the sport.
“My car broke down, so I lost my job and I was getting ready to get evicted from my apartment. At one point my family hit me up and they were so negative, they were like, ‘What the are you doing trying to do this fight thing? You're not making any money! You need to go to college! You need to get a real job!’ I was just like, 'I have a point to prove - Don't tell me I can or can't do something',” said Saunders
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