Bellator Signs Wand Fight Team Welterweight Costa
Mike Whitman May 10, 2011
Bellator
Fighting has signed Sengoku
veteran Michael
Costa to its 170-pound division, the promotion announced
Tuesday.
Costa, 29, currently serves as the head muay Thai instructor at Wand Fight Team in Las Vegas. The Brazilian joins Bellator's roster just days after his teammate, Vitor Vianna, signed with the promotion. It is currently unknown if Costa will compete in Bellator's upcoming fifth-season welterweight tournament.
“Anyone that has seen me fight before knows that I fight with all my heart, and that I fight to finish my fights by knockout,” said Costa in a release. “For me, fighting is a war. I want to finish all of my fights with Bellator so the fans remember my name.”
Formerly a member of the revered Chute Boxe camp in Brazil, Costa holds black belts in both muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Costa made his Sengoku debut in 2008, nearly five years after he began his pro career in Brazil. The welterweight has fallen on rough times in the ring since he began fighting abroad, posting consecutive submission defeats to Nick Thompson and Makoto Takimoto in Sengoku before fighting Simeon Thoreson to a draw in 2009. The Brazilian rebounded in his most recent contest, however, earning a TKO victory over Danny Salinas in just 88 seconds in November.
“Now that I have this incredible opportunity with Bellator, I'm going to work harder than ever to make the most of it for myself, my fans, and my family. When people talk about Bellator, I want them to talk about Michael Costa. I want them to talk about me like they talk about Hector Lombard. I'm here to make a name for myself with Bellator, and that's what I'm about to do.”
Costa, 29, currently serves as the head muay Thai instructor at Wand Fight Team in Las Vegas. The Brazilian joins Bellator's roster just days after his teammate, Vitor Vianna, signed with the promotion. It is currently unknown if Costa will compete in Bellator's upcoming fifth-season welterweight tournament.
“Anyone that has seen me fight before knows that I fight with all my heart, and that I fight to finish my fights by knockout,” said Costa in a release. “For me, fighting is a war. I want to finish all of my fights with Bellator so the fans remember my name.”
Formerly a member of the revered Chute Boxe camp in Brazil, Costa holds black belts in both muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Costa made his Sengoku debut in 2008, nearly five years after he began his pro career in Brazil. The welterweight has fallen on rough times in the ring since he began fighting abroad, posting consecutive submission defeats to Nick Thompson and Makoto Takimoto in Sengoku before fighting Simeon Thoreson to a draw in 2009. The Brazilian rebounded in his most recent contest, however, earning a TKO victory over Danny Salinas in just 88 seconds in November.
“Now that I have this incredible opportunity with Bellator, I'm going to work harder than ever to make the most of it for myself, my fans, and my family. When people talk about Bellator, I want them to talk about Michael Costa. I want them to talk about me like they talk about Hector Lombard. I'm here to make a name for myself with Bellator, and that's what I'm about to do.”
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