Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (February 25th, 2011) – The Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament roster is now complete with Division I All-American wrestler Raphael Davis rounding out the class of competitors. Davis joins Daniel Gracie, Nik Fekete, Chris Davis, D.J. Linderman, Tim Carpenter, Christian M’Pumbu, and Richard Hale as the eight 205 pounders competing for the first ever Bellator World Light Heavyweight Championship. The tournament will air LIVE every Saturday on MTV2 beginning in March.
“Raphael’s been with us for a while now. Last year he sat with me at the Hard Rock and said that “all he wanted was the chance to compete in a World Title Tournament”, and I’m thrilled that we are able to provide him that opportunity,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
Residing and training out of California, the former Division I All-American wrestler for CS Bakersfield enters the tournament riding an impressive nine fight win streak, including victories at Bellator 22 and 34 over Demetrius Richards and former King of the Cage Champion Tony Lopez, respectively.
A powerful submission specialist with 9 finishes in his 10 victories, Davis (10-1, 2-0 Bellator) feels like his shot at the Bellator Championship has been a long time coming.
“I’ve been waiting for so long for this Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament to finally happen,” said Davis. “I’ve been seeing all of these other champions get their belts put on them after their fights and I want one of those belts for myself. That has always been my goal ever since I first started fighting – I just want to win a belt. I want to be a world champion. Now I’m just really excited to finally have that chance.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About MTV2
MTV2 is a man’s best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.