Bellator MMA set for 10-man welterweight Grand Prix
Bellator MMA President Scott Coker announces the start of a 10-man tournament in the promotion’s welterweight division will kick off at Bellator 205.
On July 16 at the launch conference for Bellator MMA’s deal with the DAZN streaming service, Bellator MMA President, Scott Coker revealed Bellator’s plans for an upcoming, 10-man welterweight tournament.
On Sept. 29 at Bellator 205 in San Jose California, Bellator will kick-off their programming on DAZN, as well as the featured welterweight tournament. The first match-up will be a rubber match between two former welterweight champions, Douglas Lima (29-7) and Andrey Koreshkov (21-2). Lima and Koreshkov have one win apiece over each other. Koreshkov defeated Lima in their first bout to win the Bellator welterweight title, but lost in their second fight, attempting his second defense.
Also currently slated for the tournament are some of Bellator’s best Welterweight competitors. As far as former UFC talent, Jon Fitch ( 31-7-1) and Lorenz Larkin (19-7) will both be competing. The tournament will also feature four undefeated welterweights in Yaroslav “Dynamo” Amosov (20-0), Gracie Jiu-Jitsu prodigy Nieman Gracie (8-0), three-time NCAA D1 wrestling champion Ed Ruth (6-0), and fan favorite fighter, boxer and kickboxer Michael “Venom” Page (13-0). It’s bold to include four undefeated prospects in a tournament like this as undoubtedly, three of their 0’s will go. However, knowing the fighters mentality that these athletes have, it will make for a great show as they all try and prove themselves.
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The last fighter currently announced for the tournament is current welterweight champion Rory Macdonald (20-4). Interestingly, Macdonald is also set to fight on Bellator 205 in a middleweight superfight against middleweight champion, Gegard Mousasi. If Macdonald does manage to capture the middleweight title, it will be intriguing to see how or if he defends both championships, and manages the challenge of a Grand Prix.
Bellator President Scott Coker also stated that the 10th participant in the tournament will be announced at a later date. Until then, it’s fascinating to see Bellator run two tournaments in succession like this. The format is beloved in MMA, and a great way to set themselves apart from UFC. No doubt a lot of cool fights could arise from this tournament.