Bellator Season 6 Bantamweight Tournament Beginning To Take Shape
Dec 16, 2011 Comments
(PRESS RELEASE) -- After a Season 5 Bantamweight Tournament that
saw Brazilian phenom Eduardo “Dudu” Dantas (@Dudantas22) secure a
title shot against reigning Bellator Bantamweight Champion Zach
Makovsky, eight of the world’s top 135 pounders are back for
Bellator’s sixth season, eager to claim a title shot of their own.
Bellator will begin its sixth season Friday, March 2 LIVE on MTV2
and in commercial-free HD on EPIX.
“Our Season 5 Bantamweight Tournament was stacked with world class talent, but this one may be ever stronger,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “There is not an easy fight anywhere in this group and we have a couple of surprise announcements coming soon that will take this to the next level.”
While all eight tournament participants have yet to be announced,
the field is beginning to take shape. Fresh off a finals appearance
in last season’s tournament, Alexis Vila (@Alexis_Vila135) will
return to the Bellator cage for another shot at a tournament
championship. “The Exorcist” became a fan favorite after delivering
a stunning knockout to Joe Warren at Bellator 51 (Watch Here:
http://bit.ly/n3N5UB), and will look to provide nightmares to the
competition this season.
Bellator tournament veteran, Ed “Wild” West (@EdWestMMA) is back and looking to avenge his split-decision loss to Eduardo Dantas with a long tournament run. In his last 11 fights, West has only two blemishes on an otherwise impressive record. The losses came at the hands of World Champion Makovsky and the aforementioned Dantas, and West knows winning the tournament will guarantee a rematch and a chance to pay back one of the two world-class fighters.
Nova Uniao product Marcos Galvao (@MarcosGalvaoMMA) will try his hand at another Bellator tournament after suffering a controversial split-decision loss to Alexis Vila at Bellator 55. Many thought Galvao, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, controlled the pace during his fight with Vila, but the judges felt differently and “Loro” will be looking to finish his opponents during his Season six tournament run.
Two promising Brazilians will be looking to make an impression as Luis “Betao” Nogueira (@NogueiraRFT) and Rodrigo Lima (@rodrigoratinho1) have both been confirmed for the Season 6 tournament. Lima makes his Bellator debut compiling a perfect 9-0 record, including seven finishes.
Announcements on the three remaining participants will be coming shortly, as well as tournament pairings for the highly anticipated tournament.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in 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.
About MTV2
MTV2 is a man's best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
About EPIX
EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a next-generation premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service launched on October 30, 2009. With access to more than 15,000 motion pictures spanning the vast libraries of its partners and other studios, EPIX provides a powerful entertainment experience with more feature films on demand and online and more HD movies than any other service. It is the only premium service providing its entire monthly line-up of new Hollywood titles, classic feature films, original series, music and comedy specials through the linear channel, video-on-demand and online at EpixHD.com, the leading online destination for movies.
EPIX has made the commitment to deliver the industry's most expansive online collection of movies, making more than 3,000 titles available on EpixHD.com. The service is available to over 30 million homes nationwide through distribution partners including Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.
“Our Season 5 Bantamweight Tournament was stacked with world class talent, but this one may be ever stronger,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “There is not an easy fight anywhere in this group and we have a couple of surprise announcements coming soon that will take this to the next level.”
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Bellator tournament veteran, Ed “Wild” West (@EdWestMMA) is back and looking to avenge his split-decision loss to Eduardo Dantas with a long tournament run. In his last 11 fights, West has only two blemishes on an otherwise impressive record. The losses came at the hands of World Champion Makovsky and the aforementioned Dantas, and West knows winning the tournament will guarantee a rematch and a chance to pay back one of the two world-class fighters.
“I’d love to fight Dantas again,” West said. “Either guy would be
fun, but I’d love to get another shot at Dantas. I’d never look
past this tournament, and I know the field is going to be really
tough, but that fact is certainly present, and I’m ready to get
started.”
Nova Uniao product Marcos Galvao (@MarcosGalvaoMMA) will try his hand at another Bellator tournament after suffering a controversial split-decision loss to Alexis Vila at Bellator 55. Many thought Galvao, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, controlled the pace during his fight with Vila, but the judges felt differently and “Loro” will be looking to finish his opponents during his Season six tournament run.
Two promising Brazilians will be looking to make an impression as Luis “Betao” Nogueira (@NogueiraRFT) and Rodrigo Lima (@rodrigoratinho1) have both been confirmed for the Season 6 tournament. Lima makes his Bellator debut compiling a perfect 9-0 record, including seven finishes.
Announcements on the three remaining participants will be coming shortly, as well as tournament pairings for the highly anticipated tournament.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in 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.
About MTV2
MTV2 is a man's best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
About EPIX
EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a next-generation premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service launched on October 30, 2009. With access to more than 15,000 motion pictures spanning the vast libraries of its partners and other studios, EPIX provides a powerful entertainment experience with more feature films on demand and online and more HD movies than any other service. It is the only premium service providing its entire monthly line-up of new Hollywood titles, classic feature films, original series, music and comedy specials through the linear channel, video-on-demand and online at EpixHD.com, the leading online destination for movies.
EPIX has made the commitment to deliver the industry's most expansive online collection of movies, making more than 3,000 titles available on EpixHD.com. The service is available to over 30 million homes nationwide through distribution partners including Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.
