Bellator today announced the signing of former UFC lightweight Roger “El Matador” Huerta to there lineup of lightweights. He is expected to step in the cage at there lightweight tournament on April 8th from the Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL.

If Roger Huerta advances in the second season of the lightweight tournament, he could likely meet up with season one champion Eddie Alvarez.

Bellator will air on a expanded network of broadcasters including: ESPN Deportes, NBC, FOX Sports Net, Telemundo and The Score.

CHICAGO, Ill. (February 18, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships put yet another piece in place for its upcoming Season 2 featherweight tournament today with the signing of 5-2 Shad Lierley, a former International Fight League (IFL) standout and elite-level college wrestler.

The 29-year-old Lierley—who was a top college wrestler while earning his bachelor’s degree in economics and political science at New York University—is perhaps best-known for his legendary 2007 fight against one-time IFL poster boy Chris Horodecki. Despite his wrestling background (and the fact that he was fighting at 155 lbs.), Lierley stood toe-to-toe with Horodecki for three full rounds, delivering one of the most dramatic and action-packed fights in the IFL’s short history.

“Shad Lierley has been part of some great fights. If you ever want to see an awesome highlight reel watch his fight with Chris Horodecki, which Shad took at 155 even though he’s a legit 145 fighter,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He is another solid addition to our featherweight tournament.”

Star-divide

Leirley is the seventh featherweight to be announced as a participant in the eight-man tournament along with Georgi Karakhanyan, Joe Warren, Patricio Pitbull, Bao Quach, William Romero and Wilson Reis. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 155, 170 and 185 lbs. with the winners in each division being declared No. 1 contenders to the current Bellator champions.

Each of Bellator’s 24 Season 2 and 3 events will be broadcast on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo.

Lierley was born in Utah but moved at a young age to Alaska with his parents and eight siblings. He was a four-time state wrestling finalist and was named as Alaska’s Wrestler of the Year during his senior year, earning him an invitation to continue his career at NYU. There, he became one of the best wrestlers in the school’s history and held the No. 1 national ranking during his sophomore year.

After graduating, Lierley considered a wide variety of career paths, but found himself being drawn toward professional fighting. In 2006, a wrestling buddy encouraged him to try out for the IFL and he earned a spot in that organization.

“When I started college, I never planned to get involved in MMA, but it’s what I fell into and I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “There are a lot of well-educated people who have a lot of options in front of them and they choose fighting. It’s a great sport and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

As a professional, Lierley is a perfect 5-0 when fighting at 145, with his only two losses (against Horodecki and eventual IFL Featherweight Champion Wagnney Fabiano) coming at 155. His most recent win came during Bellator IX last May in Monroe, La.

“I found out then that Bellator is just an awesome organization,” Lierley said. “They’re doing some great things in MMA and the talent they’ve been recruiting is just phenomenal. There’s going to be a lot of fireworks come springtime and I think I’m going to be a part of that. I wouldn’t have signed if I didn’t think I could win this tournament.”

CHICAGO, Ill. (February 16, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that its reigning lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez, the No. 2-ranked lightweight in the world, will square off in a non-title “Super Fight” with UFC veteran Josh “The Dentist” Neer under the Bellator banner this May.

The fight is the first Super Fight matchup to be announced by Bellator, which is now gearing up for its much-anticipated nationally-televised second season. These non-tournament, non-title catch-weight fights will pit Bellator’s Season 1 Champions — Alvarez, Joe Soto, Lyman Good and Hector Lombard — against top competition as they prepare to defend their titles from Bellator’s Season 2 tournament winners this fall.

The Alvarez-Neer fight will take place during one of Bellator’s May events and will be televised live on FOX Sports Net and during Bellator highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo. The exact date will be announced in the coming weeks.

Alvarez, the Philadelphia native and Fight Factory product, has driven his 19-2 professional record to the No. 2 ranking in the world at lightweight. He dominated Bellator’s Season 1 tournament to take home the first-ever Bellator Lightweight Championship belt.

Neer, an Iowa native who is 27-9-1 over the course of his seven-year MMA career, is a three-time veteran of the UFC with signature wins over Melvin Guillard and TUF winners Joe Stevenson and Mac Danzig. Since his last UFC fight in October 2009, Neer is 2-0, with both wins coming via first-round stoppages.

“In addition to being one of the top lightweights on earth, Eddie’s a blast to watch fight,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Alvarez vs. Neer should produce fireworks from the start. Our hyper-competitive tournaments, May super-fights and September title-defense fights will all create some awesome nationally televised events.”

Alvarez, who underwent minor arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 13th, said he is itching to make his return to the cage against Neer.

“I’ve seen Josh Neer fight, and he’s a banger,” Alvarez said. “I love this fight because he never puts on a dull fight and those are the kinds of matches that suit me the best. I expect my knee to be 100 percent soon and I’m expecting that this is going to be my best performance ever.”

Neer said he also expects the fight to be an exciting one.

“This is definitely a tough fight because Alvarez is a really explosive fighter and one of the top two or three lightweights in the world,” Neer said. “I think that if I beat him, it would be a huge win for me and would really help me increase my notoriety. It’s a great opportunity.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

Bellator Fighting Championships will broadcast its second and third seasons on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo through a unique and landscape-altering alliance. Bellator’s first-of-its-kind, tournament-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion will be available nationwide for 24 weeks in 2010 to 112 million homes through NBC, 82 million homes through FOX Sports Net (FSN) and its regional sports network affiliates, as well as to 62 million homes through Telemundo.

The historic agreement, which was announced today by Bellator CEO/Founder Bjorn Rebney and executives from FOX Sports Net and NBC, is among the largest in MMA history and promises to introduce Bellator, and the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., to millions of new fans.

“Since our launch earlier this year, there has been an overwhelming demand from MMA fans nationwide for us to broadcast our events live and through a widely available platform,” Rebney said. “We are thrilled to have signed this groundbreaking agreement with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo, which will bring our unique and exciting brand of tournament-based MMA events to a dramatically expanded audience of both English- and Spanish-speaking fans.”

Under this new multi-tiered alliance, Bellator events will be distributed live in primetime on Thursday nights beginning April 8, 2010 on FSN and its regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every successive Saturday night in the all night daypart on NBC, and a one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m. Each of the three broadcasts will be aired in high definition.

“We’re thrilled to bring Bellator’s brand of MMA to our viewers. We believe the quality of the events and the passion of these fighters will resonate with our audience,” said David Sussin, Vice President of Programming, FOX Sports Net.

“Mixed martial arts has established its position by becoming one of the fastest-growing sports. Bellator and its real sport tournament format has proven it can deliver some of the finest and most intense action on broadcast television,” said Jerry Petry, Executive Vice President, NBC Universal Television.

Bellator Season 2 premieres Thursday, April 8, 2010, and runs for 12 successive weeks. Season 3 kicks off Thursday, August 12, 2010, and also runs for 12 successive weeks. Each season follows Bellator’s electrifying tournament format, where fighters in each of Bellator’s weight divisions determine their own destiny to become Champion or No. 1 Challenger. Event venues, sponsors, featured fighters and other details on Seasons 2 and 3 will be announced over the coming months.

Bellator first burst onto the MMA scene in April 2009 and with its groundbreaking single-elimination tournament format quickly established itself as one of the sport’s most exciting promotions, crowning champions in four weight divisions.

From day one, Bellator developed a tremendous following among Spanish-speaking MMA fans—a following that stands to grow dramatically through Bellator’s new alliance with Telemundo, the second-largest Spanish-language network in the U.S.

Bellator (Latin for “warrior”) is the only nationally televised professional MMA promotion in the United States that gives fighters the ability to control their own destiny. At Bellator, in each weight class, top fighters from around the world compete to determine who is crowned Champion and who becomes No. 1 Challenger. Bellator, where fighters become warriors and warriors become legends. Network negotiations were coordinated by Carr-Hughes Productions, KC Productions of Saratoga Springs, NY and Alpaytac Marketing Communications/Public Relations of Chicago, IL .

Bellator Fighting Championships finished off its inaugural season on Friday night in Hollywood Florida, by crowning its first ever lightweight and middleweight champions. Eddie Alvarez earned the BFC lightweight champion after submitting Toby Imada in the second round. Hector Lombard is the BFC middleweight champion after a cut stopped Jared Hess from continuing midway tough the forth round. Lombard improves to a fifteen fight winning streak with the win on Friday night.

Bellator Title Fights

• Eddie Alvarez defeats Toby Imada via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:38 of R2
• Hector Lombard defeats Jared Hess via TKO (Cut-Stoppage) at 1:45 of R4.

Non-Championship Results

• Fabio Mello defeats Sami Aziz via Submission (Armbar) at 1:58 of R3.
• Jorge Masvidal defeats Eric Reynolds via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:33 of R3.
• Sergio Moraes defeats Josh Martin via Submission (Triangle Choke) at 4:21 of R1.
• Rosi Sexton defeats Valerie Coolbaugh via Submission (Armbar) at 3:40 of R1.
• Luis Palomino defeats Troy Gerhart via Unanimous Decision.
• Stefanie Guimaraes defeats Yvonne Reis via TKO (Knee) at 0:49 of R1.

Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the Seminole Hard Rock Live to conclude the inaugural tournament season on June 19 in Hollywood, Fla. The 12-week world championship mixed martial arts tournament will cap off its first nationally televised season with a stacked fight card in the same arena where the tournament first launched April 3rd. Headlining the event will be the Bellator Lightweight and Middleweight championship fights. The Lightweight world title fight pits top ranked Lightweight Eddie Alvarez against submission-of-the-year sensation Toby Imada, with the winner taking home a total of $175,000 and the Bellator Lightweight world title. In the other headlining fight, former Cuban Olympian Judo ace Hector “Shango” Lombard will face off against the Oklahoman All-American wrestler Jared Hess for the 185 lb. belt and $175,000 in tournament earnings. Both world title matchups will be preceded by an action packed series of feature fights showcasing world-class MMA athletes Jorge Masvidal, Troy Gerhart, Luis Palomino and Eric Reynolds. The broadcast event will be featured exclusively in primetime on ESPN Deportes on Saturday, June 20th, with the English language event available Wendsday, June 25th at Bellator.com.

“Our first season has proven that magical things can happen when fighters are allowed to control their own destiny,” said Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney. “As a fan of this spectacular sport it’s been my great pleasure to sit cageside week after week and watch these amazing moments happen over and over again.”

Philadelphia Fight Factory standout Eddie Alvarez returns to the city where it all began for him in Bellator to face off against dangerous submission ace Toby Imada for the Bellator Lightweight title. Coming off of his stunning “submission of the year” at Bellator V, Toby Imada will look to beat Alvarez and claim a long deserved world title. As he prepares to compete for the first ever Bellator Lightweight World Championship, Alvarez has stated that he expects his June 19th performance to be the best of his highly distinguished fight career. The winning fighter will have the title belt bestowed upon him immediately following the bout and will defend his world title belt against the winner of Bellator’s season no. 2 challenger series where the promotion’s no. 1 Lightweight contender will be determined.

In the other world title fights, Cuban Judoka Hector Lombard looks to capture his first ever MMA world title when he faces former collegiate wrestling star Jared Hess, who defeated Middleweight hopefuls Yosmany Cabezas and Daniel Tabera to earn this shot at the Middleweight belt. With their combined records of 28-2, the duo is guaranteed to thrill the Florida crowd with their differing styles. Hess brings world-class wrestling skills to the Bellator cage with a well-rounded MMA arsenal and tremendous stamina, while Lombard will look to continue his dominant performances with his very heavy-handed punishing style. The winner of Bellator’s Middleweight crown will receive a total of $175,000, the world championship belt and the right to defend their title against the winner of Bellator’s season no. 2 Middleweight champion.

Bellator XII will also host a series of special feature bouts spanning across several weight classes and fight genres. Included in the evening’s matchups will be the unofficial Lightweight runner-up matchup between Florida natives and former tournament competitors Jorge Masvidal and Eric Reynolds. Also featured at Bellator XII will be the women’s special feature bout between Rosie Sexton and Valarie Coolbaugh as well as a matchup highlighting Featherweight Luis Palomino who will look to unleash his heavy handed attack on newly minted Bellator competitor Troy Gerhart. With a total of eight high octane fights scheduled for the evening, the highly anticipated season finale should be one of the most memorable MMA events of 2009.

Lightweight World Championship Final Bout

155 lbs. – Eddie Alvarez (17-2) vs. Toby Imada (22-12)

Middleweight World Championship Final Bout

185 lbs. – Hector Lombard (20-2) vs. Jared Hess (8-0-1)

Non-Tournament Bouts

155 lbs. – Jorge Masvidal (17-4) vs. Eric Reynolds (10-2)

145 lbs. – Sami Aziz (4-0-1) vs. Brad Pickett (16-4)

170 lbs. – Josh Martin (6-2-1) vs. Sergio Morais (3-0)

120 lbs. – Valerie Coolbaugh (1-1) vs. Rosie Sexton (9-1)

155 lbs. – Troy Gerhart (5-0) vs. Luis Palomino (10-5)

140 lbs. – Jennifer Kloptsoff (Pro Debut) vs. Stephanie Guimaraes (0-1)

Nick Pace lands a sick Flying Knee KO Collin Tebo at Bellator 11 on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

Missed this battle between Diego Garijo and Saad Awad at Bellator X. The fight was awarded “Fight Of The Night”. Garijo who was cornered by Brandon Vera, pulled off a sick comeback, by choking out Saad Awad after a bloody slugfest between the two fighters.

props [CagePotato]

Bellator 9 Highlight, Chad Leohardt lands a knee flush to Dan Kennans jaw at Bellator IX on May 29 at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, LA.

Monroe, Louisiana – May 30, 2009 – In front of an electrified and vocal crowd in Monroe, Louisiana, Hector Lombard and Jared Hess put on dominating performances to earn their way to the first ever Bellator Middleweight world championship. Opening the semi-final action was the Cuban Olympian and knockout artist Hector “Shango” Lombard taking on Army Ranger and combatives expert Damien Stelly. Out of the gates both fighters let punches fly with a go-for-broke start that ended with Lombard mounting Stelly and implementing a ground and pound strategy that eventually resulted in a referee stoppage. While Stelly fought gallantly, he wasn’t able to break free from Lombard’s mount and the referee stopped the fight via TKO with the ultra tough Hector Lombard moving onto the finals in under three minutes.

Headlining the night, the Oklahoman all-around tactical machine Jared Hess faced the legend killer and unpredictably versatile Yosmany Cabezas. Nearly going the three round distance, this match demonstrated how tough both competitors are with Hess dominating the fight with ground and pound while Cabezas consistently looked for an edge on Hess. Although Hess defiantly took the first two rounds with Cabezas physically showing signs of his beating, the Cuban powerhouse Cabezas never gave up even with fists showering upon him. With only 30 seconds left in the match, the referee called it a TKO victory for the relentless Oklahoman tornado Jared Hess. Both Hess and Lombard collected the $50,000 purse and will move onto the Bellator Middleweight world championship bout and compete for the $100,000 grand prize in Hollywood, Florida on June 19th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. All the Bellator Middleweight semi-final action can be seen on Saturday, May 30, 2009 exclusively on ESPN Deportes and on Bellator.com on Wednesday, June 3, 2009.

“The Hector Lombard, Jared Hess final truly pits our two top Middleweights against each other. Lombard standing is an amazingly powerful force and Hess on the ground is non-stop action and strikes. This should be a great final,” remarked Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This deafening Monroe, Louisiana crowd was treated to a fantastic night of action that was just a preview of the championship finals that these two powerhouses will demonstrate at Bellator XII in June.”

With the stunning undercard battles, Nick Ring returned to the cage after a three year hiatus, not showing an inch of ring rust, to submit Isidro Gonzalez in less than one minute via guillotine submission. Alex Andrade returned to Bellator action for retribution and got just that by dominating Christian Fulgram with a furious throwing of rights and lefts resulting in the referee to call it in just over two minutes. In a battle of the heavyweights, LSU football star Shawn Jordan impressed his loyal fans by taking out fellow Louisianan Jayme McKinney in 30 seconds into the second.

All of the Bellator IX action will air on ESPN Deportes Saturday, May 30. The full fight card results are below:

Bellator IX Middleweight Semi-Final Tournament bouts

185 lbs. – Yosmany Cabezas (8-2) vs. Jared Hess (8-0-1) Hess by TKO at 14:26

185 lbs. – Damien Stelly (9-3) vs. Hector Lombard (19-2) Lombard by TKO (strikes) at 2:56

Bellator IX Non-tournament bouts

185 lbs. – Isidro Gonzalez (16-13) vs. Nick Ring (8-0) Ring by submission (guillotine) at 0:39

145 lbs. – Shad Lierley (5-2) vs. Nate Murdock (6-5) Lierley by unanimous decision

185 lbs. – Christian Fulgram (10-3) vs. Alex Andrade (8-5) Andrade by TKO at 2:01

HWT – Shawn Jordan (1-0) vs. Jayme McKinney (5-4) Jordan by submission at 5:30

175 lbs. – Dan Keenan (0-1) vs. Chan Leonhardt (3-1) Leonhardt by KO at 3:03

155 lbs. – Chas Skelly (3-0) vs. Mike Braswell (4-3) Skelly by split decision