The competition is getting to be something fierce in the Bellator featherweight division, as former Greco-Roman World Champion wrestler Joe Warren became the latest major signing for the upstart promotion.
Warren Latest Bellator Signing
Warren is the fifth announced fighter and probably the most recognizable name in the field. A former Michigan University wrestling standout, Warren continued his wrestling career on the international level in the Greco-Roman style, winning the 2006 FILA World Championship, which established him as the favorite for gold in the 2008 Olympics. Warren’s path to gold was interrupted by a positive test for THC, found commonly in marijuana, and received a two-year ban from competition.
Officially making the transition to MMA in 2008, Warren (2-1) joined Team Quest to train alongside fellow Greco-Roman wrestler and MMA star Dan Henderson. Warren didn’t take long making a name for himself, knocking off former WEC champ Chase Beebe in his first professional fight and following that with a stunning upset of Japanese MMA star Kid Yamamota in his second bout. Warren’s run at Dream 11 would come to an end in the semifinals against eventual Dream champion Bibiano Fernandes.
“We are very excited about this signing and being the MMA organization that brought Joe back to the states,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Joe has the ability, drive, confidence and personality to become a star in our sport. His first two wins would make a good career for most fighters and as his stand-up continues developing, the sky is the limit for Joe Warren.”
Warren enters a stacked featherweight division that includes Patricio Friere (12-0), Georgi Karakhaynan (12-1-1), William Romero (5-0) and Bao Quach (17-9-1). The winner is guaranteed a shot at current Bellator champion Joe Soto (8-0).
“I competed for the USA for 10 years and I bleed red, white and blue,” Warren said. “So I’m ready to come back to this country, make my U.S. debut and fight in front of the American MMA fans. I love everything that Bellator is doing and I’m just honored to be a part of their organization.”
Season 2 for the Bellator Fighting Championships kicks off April 8th at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL. Tournaments will be featured in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight division. All Bellator fights will be aired live on Fox Sports Net each week, with replay highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo on Saturday nights.
Bellator Fighting Championships finalized four of its scheduled events for the upcoming Seasons 2 and 3, announcing that it will return to the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. During its first season, Bellator began and ended its season at the Hard Rock Live, culminating in a near sellout for the upstart MMA promotion to close its inaugural campaign.
Bellator Returns To The Hard Rock
The dates to be held at the Hard Rock Live include:
Bellator XIII, April 8, 2010
Bellator XXII, June 10, 2010
Bellator XXV, Aug. 12, 2010
Bellator XXXVI, Oct. 28, 2010
In addition to the events at the Hard Rock, Bellator will be securing venues for 20 other events to be held nationwide over the next few weeks. All events will be broadcast live in primetime through a distribution arrangement with FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. Bellator has also scheduled a 30-minute highlight show to air Saturday night on NBC, as well as a Spanish-language replay that will air on Telemundo on Saturdays as well.
The news of the first venues follows a recent rash of high-profile signings that include Dan Hornbuckle, former Olympian Ben Askren, Patricio Freire and Georgi Karakhaynan. Season 2 will follow the same tournament format with the winner of the tournament guaranteed a title shot against Bellator’s Season 1 champions Joe Soto, Eddie Alvarez, Lyman Good and Hector Lombard.
Tickets for the Season 2 premiere will go on sale February 5, 2010 and will be available at Ticketmaster.com.
As a fan of mixed martial arts, I admit I am a purist. I remember sitting down as a teenager with my dad and brother watching the very first UFC 1. I love the sport and catch as much action on television as I can. As I see it, the more successful promotions out there, the better for the MMA fan.
Joe Soto Is A Champion, Not A Prospect
So here’s my gripe.
All the supposed MMA fans and bloggers are out here cursing over not getting see the bouts they want to see. I’ve never seen this level of strife like this before online. We want Fedor vs Lesnar. We want BJ vs Aoki. Blah. Blah. Blah. There is a reason why we aren’t getting these fights. Because Dana White and Zuffa are blocking them from happening.
It is important to remember that the UFC is just a promotion, they are not a league. Their champions are actually paper champions, not real champions. Champions are crowned by sanctioning bodies, not the Don King of MMA. White has taken the purity of UFC 1 and turned the UFC into biggest sports entertainment rival to WWE.
What irks me most are bloggers and MMA columnists that push this drivel that a fighter can only earn his stripes by fighting under the Zuffa banner, either UFC or WEC. In a column I ran across yesterday on BleacherReport.com by correspondent Ken Foss, he pastes Bellator’s current champion Joe Soto as a prospect and that “Because Bellator has slumbered, Joe Soto’s stock has stagnated. Even so, he’s still arguably the top prospect at 145 pounds, and it’s only a matter of time before we see this 22-year-old beating up on WEC featherweights.”
BleacherReport’s Foss goes right for the jugular on Bellator, diminishing their accomplishments and asserting that Soto has made a mistake in fighting for them instead of WEC. As pointed out in a response comment to the story, Joe Soto was the highest paid featherweight fighter in the world in 2009. Needless to say, it impossible to be a prospect when you made more money than anyone else at your weight class.
Foss then tries to compare a salary paid to a failed NFL player to try and back up his point while sticking to his guns that Soto isn’t the best until he fights in WEC. Too bad that correlation makes no freaking sense at all since fighter pay is tied to success in the cage and NFL players get their first contract before they ever take the field and its based on their draft order.
It’s this kind of naivete that really hurts the sport. Bellator is one the bright spots in MMA. Guys like Foss, who hase probably never watched any of Bellator’s fight cards or attended one of their events are instantly experts that Bellator is bush league and piss all over it. In their minds, you are nothing until you kiss Dana White’s ring.
In my opinion, kudos to Joe Soto for controlling his fighting destiny and bucking the ranks. Bellator is primed for a great second season and Soto is the man to watch. And I’ll put my money down right now that next year, Foss will be eating his words, because money talks and bullshit walks. Bellator pays more and they will get the better fighters in the long run at featherweight.
Bellator today announced the signing of cage veteran Bao Quach (17-9-1) who will be added to the upcoming Season 2 featherweight tourney. Quach has reeled of 11 victories in his last 12 fights after a rocky start to his career. Quach has fought on some of the biggest names on the biggest stages, including Strikeforce, WEC, EliteXC and Shooto.
Quach Latest Bellator Signing
Quach is the lastest fighter to join Bellator’s upcoming eight-man 145 lbs. tournament. Bellator has previously announced the signing of Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1), undefeated William Romero (5-0) and undefeated Jiu-Jitsu black belt Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (12-0). Rumors are still circling that highly regarded Eric Marriott (17-2) will also be on tap for the tournament.
“During the last three years, Bao has established himself as a fighter with devastating world-class striking abilities. The level of his striking and kickboxing is at the highest level in MMA,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “With Bao, Georgi, Pitbull and Will, 145 should be a spectacular tournament.”
Quach’s career got off to an uneven start with some impressive performances against top-tier fighters and some disappointing losses. In some respects, Quach was unprepared for the training commitment required for elite fighting and his pure skill didn’t carry through each time.
Some of Quach’s career highlight include victories over Cole Escovedo and Chris David, a close majority decision loss to Jeff Curran, and a stoppage loss to Wagnney Fabiano. But the turning point in his career was a draw decision against the heralded Hatsu Hioki, considered by most industry insiders as one of the Top 5 featherweights in the world.
“Nobody thought I had a chance in that fight and, even though it was a draw, I know that I beat him,” Quach said. “At that point, I said to myself, “I don’t want to do this half-way anymore.” I realized that I really had the potential to do something in this sport. So I really changed my lifestyle and just dedicated myself to my career and nothing else.”
Since that point, Quach has been on fire. A victory in the Bellator tournament guarantees him a shot at Joe Soto, the current Bellator featherweight championship, not to mention the biggest payday for a featherweight in the sport of MMA.
Quach said he was drawn to Bellator for a variety of factors, not the least of which is what he called “some unfinished business” with fellow ’featherweight tournament competitor Karakhanyan. The two were recently slated to square off before a broken hand left Quach sidelined.
Bellator made the second of its anticipated four fighter signing announcements today, bringing in undefeated Canadian fighter William Romero to join its featherweight tournament in April. Romero sports a 5-0 record and is coming off a highlight reel 17 second knockout victory over Guillaume Lamarche.
Bellator Inks Canadian MMA Star
Romero becomes the second fighter signed that will seek to gain a tournament victory for an automatic shot at current titleholder, undefeated Joe Soto (8-0). Bellator announced just two days ago the signing of former MISL soccer player and budding MMA star Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1). Rumors are also swirling that the remaining announcements for the featherweight division may include highly regarded fighters Eric Marriott (17-2) and Patricio Freire (12-0).
Romero was born in Canada but spent a large chunk of his childhood living in Ecuador, where his family traces its ancestry. At 17, he enlisted as an infantry soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces, became a paratrooper and served overseas in Bosnia. He was introduced to MMA by famed Canadian trainer Randy Grant. Once Romero left the military at the age of 25, he started fighting full time.
Romero said he’s relishing the opportunity to compete on an international stage. “I watched Season 1 of Bellator and I was very, very impressed,” Romero said. “The level of competition is just awesome. Now I’m hoping to make my mark and to show the world what people in Canada already know.”
“MMA fans north of the border know the name William Romero and now fans in the U.S. are going to have the chance to know it too,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “We are excited to welcome him to our organization.”
Rebney has reason to be excited given how Romero dispatched his last opponent seen here on YouTube:
And those Canadian fans will be able to see Romero make his run at the title thanks to Bellator recent broadcasting deal. Bellator’s 24 fights during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed live in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every Saturday night, late night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m.
Bellator Fighting Championships began filling its tournament brackets for the featherweight division with the signing of Georgi Karakhanyan. The announcement comes after four major signing in the welterweight division and rumors that top-rated Eric Marriott and Patricio Freire will join the featherweight division tournament.
Karakhanyan, a 24 year old Russian-born fighter, sports a 12-1-1 record since he began his MMA career in 2006. His only loss came by split decision to Chris David, and since rattled off seven straight wins against some top-quality competition. Karakhanyan brings forward a specialization in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that has helped him finish of 8 of his 12 victories by submission.
“With 12 wins and just one loss under his belt, Georgi is a proven winner” said Bjorn Rebney, founder and CEO of Bellator Fighting Championships. “He brings an explosive style to the cage that makes for great fights. We are excited to welcome Georgi to Bellator.” And Rebney should be excited given the highlight reel knockouts like the one featured below on YouTube.
Awaiting Karakhanyan after a victorious run in the Bellator Season 2 tournament is current undefeated champion Joe Soto (8-0) who rose from anonymity during the first season, knocking off former Elite XC champion Wilson Reis en route to the championship.
Bellator continues to roll with some very exciting signings that are priming it for an exciting follow-up season. Their focus on upcoming fighters is bringing a breathe of fresh air to the stale offerings being served up recently by other organizations.
