Bellator Fighting Championships adds top-ten world ranked Angela Magana

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that top-ten 115 pounder Angela Magana has been added to Bellator’s stellar list of top-competitors in the upcoming Bellator Season 3 Women’s Tournament. According to recently released rankings, the rising star is currently the #8 ranked female fighter in the world at 115 lbs. Magana, who holds a professional record of 9-4, faces the toughest test of her career in a stacked 115 lbs. tournament roster.

“We are very pleased to add Angela Magana to the compelling list of 115 pound women competing in our Season 3 tournament. There is not an easy fight anywhere in this tournament and Angela should present a very tough fight for everyone she faces in this tournament,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Hailing from a rough beginning in Los Angeles, Magana eventually relocated to New Mexico where she found a healthy outlet for her aggression in high school wrestling. She excelled, making the varsity team and later going to the State finals. In addition, Magana also holds an impressive amateur boxing record compiled through junior high and high school.

However, it wasn’t until she first watched the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme film Bloodwork that she became interested in martial arts. “I watched it over and over again,” said Magana “It wasn’t exactly MMA, but it sparked my interest and really inspired me to start training.”

Magana found a gym and started to hone her jiu-jitsu skills by entering numerous grappling tournaments while still using her wrestling skills as a base. 13 MMA fights later, Magana stands ready to face the best-of-the-best in Bellator’s Season 3 Women’s Tournament. The New Mexico fighter says she hopes for a re-match with undefeated fellow tournament fighter Jessica Pene, whom she lost to last September. Although she makes no excuses for the loss, Magana said it was the toughest weight cut of her life.

Magana is one of five announced participants in Bellator’s forthcoming Season 3 Women’s Tournament along with Japanese MMA sensation Megumi Fujii, widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world, 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton (the world’s No. 1-ranked 125 lbs. female fighter), 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward and 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene. The tournament kicks off in August.

Magana currently resides in Farmington, N.M with her 8 year old daughter, where she trains with Greg Jackson sister gym Team Four Corners.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.