Though still without a formal start date, Bellator Fighting Championships’ upcoming fourth season now has six official competitors for its eight-man welterweight tournament. Dan Hornbuckle, Steve Carl, Brent Weedman, Chris Lozano, Jim Wallhead and Rick Hawn were all confirmed as participants by the promotion during Thursday’s live Fox Sports Net broadcast.
Another fighter with a judo background, Wallhead secured his spot in the tournament with a unanimous decision win over Ryan Thomas on Bellator’s Oct. 14 show.
The season two welterweight runner-up, Hornbuckle had a six-fight win streak snapped by current Bellator champ Ben Askren in the tournament finals in June. He went on to defeat UFC vet “Bad” Brad Blackburn two months later.
Carl, Lozano and Weedman, meanwhile, each won qualifier bouts during the course of Bellator’s third season to earn their respective ways into the bracket.
Though not officially announced by the promotion, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney told Sherdog.com earlier this month that the loser of Thursday’s Ben Askren-Lyman Good title fight would likely be slotted into the season four tournament, as well. Having come up on the short end of a five-round unanimous decision, it remains to be seen if the now-former champion Good will try to restart his ascent from the bottom of the ladder.