Bellator Announces Eight-Man Welterweight Grand Prix to Begin on Sept. 29 in San Jose

Bellator MMA has announced another tournament, as its welterweight grand prix will kick off on Sept. 29.

Bellator President Scott Coker announced the news during a press conference in New York on Tuesday. Coker confirmed that Michael Page, Paul Daley, and former champions Douglas Lima and Andrey Koreshkov will be participating in the welterweight tournament. No matchups have been confirmed, but the first bout of the grand prix will take place at Bellator’s stacked card on Sept. 29 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

Meanwhile, former UFC standout and current Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald is currently slated to take on middleweight kingpin Gegard Mousasi in a 185-pound title bout at the Sept. 29 event, so it is currently unclear if MacDonald will take part in the grand prix at a later date.

Bellator was a strictly tournament-based MMA promotion prior to Scott Coker taking the reins, as former president Bjorn Rebney placed a strong focus on the tournament structure in building contenders.

It seems as if the Viacom-backed promotion is continuing that trend of divisional tournaments, but only periodically. That sets it apart from the UFC, which hasn’t held an official tournament in over a decade.

Bellator is currently in the middle of its heavyweight grand prix. Matt Mitrione will face Ryan Bader in one semifinal, while Fedor Emelianenko will square off with Chael Sonnen in the other. The winner of the bracket will be crowned heavyweight champion.