‘Sapo’-Cury Welterweight Scrap Added to Bellator 45

Brazilian welterweight standout Luis “Sapo” Santos will make his Bellator Fighting Championships debut against American Top Team representative Nicolae Cury at Bellator 45.

Sherdog.com confirmed the matchup with a source close to the event Thursday following an initial report from MMAJunkie.com.

Featuring two tournament finals, Bellator 45 goes down May 21 at L’Auberge du Lac Resort in Lake Charles, La. The event will showcase the final of Bellator’s inaugural light heavyweight tournament, as Christian M’Pumbu and Richard Hale will vie for the 205-pound crown. Contesting the fourth-season featherweight final will be Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and Daniel Straus.

Originally hailing from Belem, Brazil, Santos currently fights out of Finney’s MMA in St. Louis. “Sapo” has more than 50 bouts to his credit and has been competing professionally since 2000. Santos fought once for the WEC, falling by technical knockout to Alex Serdyukov in 2008. The welterweight rides a seven-fight win streak into his Bellator debut.

Known as “The Destroyer,” Cury (Pictured) sports only a shred of the in-ring experience possessed by his foe. A veteran of five pro bouts, Cury began his career in 2008, earning a submission victory over Jorge Bouchat in the defunct EliteXC promotion. The 30-year-old has won back-to-back contests leading up to his showdown with Santos, most recently notching a unanimous decision over Frank Carrillo in January.