Hornbuckle-Blackburn Announced for Bellator 25

Dan Hornbuckle and Brad Blackburn are slated to meet in a welterweight featured attraction at Bellator Fighting Championships 25 on Aug. 19 at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, the promotion announced Tuesday.

Hornbuckle, stamped his name in Bellator’s 170-pound ranks during season two’s welterweight tournament with first-round submission wins against Tyler Stinson and Steve Carl. However, the 29-year-old Illinois native was out-pointed by 2008 Olympic wrestling team member Ben Askren in the tournament’s finals. Hornbuckle has also had recent success in Japan’s Sengoku promotion, notching back-to-back victories against former Bodog Fight champ Nick Thompson and Akihiro Gono.

Blackburn will make his promotional debut following a 3-2 run in the UFC. The 33-year-old Washington native reeled off Octagon wins against James Giboo, Ryo Chonan and Edgar Garcia, but lost consecutive bouts in 2010 to “Ultimate Fighter” winner Amir Sadollah and DaMarques Johnson, prompting his release.

Hornbuckle commended Blackburn’s shared penchant for striking-heavy battles in a press release.

“Bad Brad is a really tough opponent and it's going to be a good start to my win-streak,” said Hornbuckle. “Brad's skill sets are going to complement mine and I'll finally be able to unleash the Handler's stand-up without any wrestling tackles involved.”

Bellator 25, the promotion’s second event of its third season, will air live on the Fox Sports Network.