Bellator Officially Announces $100,000 Season 4 Welterweight Tournament, Confirms Hornbuckle as First Official Participant

CHICAGO, Ill. (January 3, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships officially announced today that it will hold a Season 4 Welterweight Tournament in the promotion’s highly anticipated fourth season airing on MTV2. Eight top 170 lb. fighters will face off for a chance at claiming the Season 4 Welterweight Tournament Championship, a check for $100,000, and a shot at Bellator Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren for the title later this year.

While announcements regarding confirmed participants for the Bellator Welterweight Tournament are forthcoming, Bellator veteran and Season 2 welterweight tournament finalist Dan “The Handler” Hornbuckle is confirmed for the upcoming competition. After suffering a defeat at the hands of current champion Askren by way of unanimous decision in the Season 2 finals, Hornbuckle is eager for another shot at the belt.

“The fact that Ben Askren is going to be there waiting for me after I win this tournament keeps me motivated,” said Hornbuckle. “It keeps me waking up every morning hungry. There's never a loss that is taken easily, so I definitely want to get back in there, win this tournament, and avenge that loss.”

Even with his sights ultimately set on Askren and the Bellator crown, Hornbuckle knows he can’t look too far ahead.

“My sights are definitely still set on obtaining that Bellator gold, but the way that this tournament is shaping up, I can't look past my next fight for a second,” Hornbuckle said. “This is going to be the toughest welterweight tournament that you will ever see in MMA.”

Known for his highlight reel head kicks and flashy submissions, Hornbuckle has finished 20 of his 22 victories by knockout or submission. In 2010, Hornbuckle compiled consecutive tap out victories over the likes of Tyler Stinson and Steve Carl before picking up a hard-fought unanimous decision win over dangerous UFC veteran “Bad” Brad Blackburn.

“While our first two welterweight tournaments have been great, based on the lineup, this tournament is stacked from #1 through 8 and should be our strongest to date,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Dan’s a significant talent and I know how motivated he is to earn his way to a rematch with Ben, it’s great to have him back in”

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Bellator Signs Undefeated Heavyweight Knockout Artist Ron Sparks

CHICAGO, Ill. (December 28, 2010) —Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the signing of fast-rising heavyweight knockout artist Ron “The Monster” Sparks to an exclusive long-term promotional agreement. The hard-hitting Sparks earned his spot on the Bellator roster with a devastating 50 second knockout of the previously undefeated Greg Maynard during Bellator 30 in September of this year. Sparks will take part in Bellator's next heavyweight tournament, slated to take place in 2011.

The 6'4”, 265 lbs. Louisville native owns a flawless 6-0 professional record with an astounding 83 knockout percentage (five TKO or KOs and one decision.) Wasting no time in the cage, all five of Sparks' combined KOs amount to a total time of just three minutes and 14 seconds.

“I want to be like Mike Tyson was in the 1980's,” said Sparks. “I'm coming in there to knock you out, and that's just the way I'm going to come. I'm coming in there to rip your head off. I want to catch them on the chin and be done with them.”

“With his devastating knockout power, natural strength and athleticism, Ron Sparks is a guy who deserves to compete at the next level of competition. I’m glad to say he will be doing that under the Bellator banner,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

The massive heavyweight found interest in martial arts early in life when at the age of seven his father, a Vietnam veteran who taught martial arts in the military, showed him a Bruce Lee film.

“I was Bruce Lee in my backyard after that. I wanted to be him,” said Sparks. “From that point on I was just obsessed with anything combat sports related kickboxing, judo, Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, boxing - you name it, Bruce Lee is the reason I’m fighting today.”

Before going pro in 2006, Sparks amassed an unblemished amateur MMA record of 5-0 but found it frustratingly hard to find fights, with many of his opponents backing out at the last minute after seeing the 265 plus pound Sparks. This has also happened in his professional career.

“I've had so many opponents pull out of fights with me in the past. I guess a lot of guys don't want to lose to me or they feel like I'm that big of a threat,” Said Sparks. “It's frustrating because I have to train almost 9 weeks sometimes for fights these guys just to pull out.”

Looking toward the next level of his career, the 36 year old is eager to bring his tenacity to the Bellator cage.

“When that bell rings and I come out, people are going to be like, “This guy is for real,” because when I come across that cage, I'm going to be throwing hell for a good fifteen minutes,” said Sparks. “I want the Bellator Heavyweight Title, and I'll be ready to go through hell to get it.”

MTV2 AND BELLATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS AGREE TO 3-YEAR PARTNERSHIP

Rising Mixed Martial Arts Organization Features Top Stars In Exciting Tournament Format

MTV2 To Debut Live Matches in March 2011

New York, NY, December 14, 2010 – Bellator Fighting Championships, a growing force in the world of mixed martial arts, has a new television home, MTV2. It was announced today jointly by Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney and Eric Conte, SVP, Programming and Production, MTV2. The three-year deal will commence in 2011.

Featuring some of the sport’s top stars, Bellator brings a unique format of world-class fighting to fans with 12-week, eight-man tournaments in respective weight classes. MTV2, which features the highest concentration of M12-24 and M12-34 in television, will telecast two of these LIVE tournaments per year, plus a collection of special feature events. The first tournament will premiere in March 2011.

"MTV2 is the perfect home for the intense mixed martial arts action of Bellator," Eric Conte, SVP, Programming and Production, MTV2. "MMA is at the top of our audience's wish list, and partnering with Bellator to bring live events and specials to MTV2 made complete sense since our viewers are so hungry to see more MMA on-air."

“We are thrilled to partner with MTV2 which has such a strong audience of hard-to-reach young guys,” said Rebney. “With a timeslot on a prominent nationally-distributed cable network aimed at young men, we now have the perfect platform to showcase our exciting, action-packed tournaments and fighters.”

Bellator which is Latin for “Warrior,” is based in Chicago, IL and was founded in 2008 by Rebney. The stable of fighters include some of the most exciting in the sport including Eddie Alvarez, Hector Lombard, Joe Warren, Ben Askren, Zoila Frausto and Roger Huerta, once featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Bellator events are held in venues all across the country. Their fights have previously aired on Fox Sports Net, NBC, bi-lingual channel Mun2, ESPN Deportes, and the Score

Bellator 33 Superfight: Eddie Alvarez and Roger Huerta On Their Fight in Philadelphia

Bellator 33 is posswibly Bellator's Biggest show to date with some of their biggest stars.
Roger Huerta and Eddie Alvarez Bellator's Lightweight Champion are two of the world's best and most exciting lightweights.  They fight tonight and Bellator is bringing you all the action, here are some of their thought going into battle.


EDDIE ALVAREZ:

On Bellator:

The relationship I have with Bellator right now is amazing. They're really giving me a voice as a fighter and treating me like a professional athlete. They're compensating me correctly and I couldn't be happier. It makes me want to give back to them even more.

On his homecoming to Philadelphia:

Roger Huerta, Philadelphia, October 31st…This is a dream fight for me. Right here in my hometown, I couldn't ask for anything more. The only times I've ever lost have been outside of the United States. I've never even lost a fight here in the states so I'm definitely not going to start in my hometown of Philadelphia with all of my people there. That's not going to happen. Not a chance. Roger is a great fighter and I love this fight but my fight is never with my opponents. It's more about me. I'm not going to be happy unless I completely control and dominate Roger in this fight. It's important for me to go in there and dominate this fight and prove that I'm one of the best lightweights in the world. I've fought a lot of guys that supposedly had "iron chins" and almost every time, they're the guys I put away.

On finishing the fight:

My intentions will be to finish this fight, especially in my hometown. I want to make sure I give them what they paid for. I know I can fight. I know I'm one of the top lightweights in the world, and I know I can finish my opponents -- whoever they put in front of me. I'm never going to leave the cage with any regrets.

On beating any lightweight in the world right now:

Yeah, on any given night. I do. I honestly do. I feel like there's not a lightweight out there that I can't beat. This is something I've been looking for. This is something the fans have wanted to see for a long time now. I don't care where you fought in the past, but if you come to my promotion and you have a big name and you're obviously marketable, and the promotion signs you, they're obviously trying to make moves. If I don't feel threatened by that, then I'm an idiot. I definitely feel threatened with someone like Roger trying to come in. I'm going to do everything I can to protect what's mine and get him out of there. I want to finish him and I want him out of there. I don't want Bellator trying to sell him or market him. I want to keep all eyes on me. I'm going to go out there and do my job. This is how I get paid.



ROGER HUERTA

On training:

Losing to Curran put the fire back into my training and completely revived my hunger for competition. I respect Eddie for all of his accomplishments in the sport. I believe that he's one of the best lightweights in the world, if not the best.

On his fight with Eddie:

This is the biggest fight of my entire career. I believe that I'm one of the best fighters in the world and being matched up with Eddie will bring the best out of me. When I beat Eddie, I'll show that I'm one of the best in the world too. I've lost a lot of close decisions and they're all very heart breaking for me every time. I just can not leave it in the judge’s hands. Nobody can. Those hard decisions have taught me to try to finish my fights. This is a fight that I've always wanted. This is a dream come true. I didn't think it was going to happen and all of a sudden, here it is. It's not for a title but the title doesn't matter as much to me as the challenge. Eddie Alvarez brings a lot to the table. It's going to be a grueling fight for the both of us. It's going to be a potential fight of the year. I'm going in there expecting a war, and I'm going in there trying to finish Eddie. The cheers or jeers will affect me one-way or the other. The pressure is on him fighting in his hometown. He's going to bring the best out of me. The best. It's going to be scary.

On proving himself:

I believe that I'm one of the very best in the world. I just need to show up. I need to go out there and prove it. I need to be ready. The last few years have been quite a slump for me. I've a lot of issues in my personal life, but it's up to me to come back and me strong. I feel like I'm in a better place mental than I have been for a while.

On his trainer:

A good friend of mine and my trainer Justin Hagan was always my rock but we separated a few years ago and I have just felt like I've been lost. It's been very hurtful, searching around the world trying to find the right team and never finding the right fit. Now I've come back to Justin and he's back on board. I have him tell me how to live and how to eat, just everything. He's an amazing friend and an amazing trainer and he's going to bring me back better than ever. Justin is my Cus D'Amato. There are a lot of good trainers out there but when you don't have that click with anyone else, they can't really bring the best out of you.



Tickets for Bellator 33 are STILL available at www.ComcastTix.com