Bellator Signs Former Cage Warriors Champion Ross Houston

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Delighted to announce that I’ve put pen to paper and signed for @bellatormma . This is literally a life changing move for me in every sense of the word Never in my life did I think that what started off as a hobby down my local gym would play such a massive part in my life & put me in the position I’m now sitting in today I’m truly grateful & feel blessed to have had such a good group of people around me helping me reach this level. In particular my main man @kamcheng1977 who’s been with me since day 1 & also my dad Stormin Norman This is just to start. I’ve not reached my prime yet and have so much more still to give ! We chose Bellator because of the depth of their welterweight division & the elite world class challenges that we are going to face & defeat on our way to the belt ! Thankyou to everyone who’s stuck by me so far. Onwards and upwards we go. Looking forward to the next chapter #Scalpingseason

A post shared by Ross houston (@houston_mma) on Feb 20, 2020 at 8:49am PST

One more Cage Warriors Fighting Championship alum has made it to the big leagues.

On Thursday morning, head of Bellator MMA Europe David Green announced at Bellator Dublin media day that the promotion has signed former Cage Warriors welterweight champion Ross Houston (8-0, 1 NC). Houston later posted of this news on his Instagram page. The former champ fought seven of his nine career bouts under the Cage Warriors banner. “The Hitman" earned his title shot after submitting Nathan Jones at CW 95, and captured the 170-pound belt by edging Italy’s Stefano Paterno by split decision at CW 98.

The Scotsman then squared off with Nicolas Dalby for the undisputed welterweight title at CW 106. Their epic battle ended in anticlimactically, though, after referee Marc Goddard was forced to declare the bout a no-contest, as the fighting surface was deemed unsafe as a result of the amount of the blood both men had shed. The bout was enough to get Dalby re-signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and for Houston to get picked up by Bellator after testing free agency.

At the moment, the organization has yet to announce Houston’s date and opponent for his promotional debut.