Two new entrants have been added to Battlegrounds MMA’s one-night, eight-man tournament field, as one-time WSOF title challenger Jesse Taylor and veteran Joe Ray have replaced Dennis Hallman and Chris Honeycutt in the welterweight bracket, promotion officials announced on Tuesday.
“We are thrilled to bring two more highly accomplished competitors like Jesse and Joe into the tournament fold, and are excited by the increased number of potential outcomes that their addition creates for this incredible, one-night event,” BattleGrounds MMA President Kenny Monday said in statement.
A 31-year-old former finalist of The Ultimate Fighter 7, Taylor (27-10) recently saw his seven-fight win streak snapped via first-round submission at the hands of David Branch last June in a contest to decide the inaugural WSOF middleweight champion.
Strikeforce veteran Ray (11-3), meanwhile, enters the tournament field riding high on a career-best six-fight win streak that stretches back to late-2011. The 29-year-old defeated ONE FC regular Ole Laursen via third-round guillotine choke in his most recent outing last October.
Battlegrounds MMA’s one-night, eight-man tournament is scheduled to take place on Friday, October 3 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK, and air live on pay-per-view. Along with Taylor and Ray, welterweights Cody McKenzie, Brock Larson, Luigi Fioravanti, David Mitchell, Roan Carneiro and Trey Houston are expected to vie for the tourney’s $50,000 grand prize.
Famed WWE announcer Jim Ross and retired UFC fighter Chael Sonnen will serve as commentators.