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QUOTE After announcing all eight competitors for their upcoming season-two featherweight tournament, Bellator Fighting Championship officials today unveiled the brackets for the opening round of the 145-pound tourney.
The four fights take place April 8 (Bellator 13) and April 15 (Bellator 14).
April 8 matchups include Joe Warren (2-1) vs. Eric Marriott (17-2) and Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1) vs. Bao Quach (17-9-1), and April 15 matchups include Wilson Reis (9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (5-2) and Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (12-0) vs. William Romero (5-0).
Although Bellator will host tournaments in four weight classes ranging from featherweight to middleweight, the 145-pound division is the only one filled as of today.
Bellator's season-two tournaments, which determine challengers for the season-one tournament winners and current champs, kick off with the season's April start and air live on FOX Sports Net affiliates (Thursday nights) and in highlights packages on NBC and Telemundo (Saturday nights).
Reis is the only competitor to make a second tournament run. Although a favorite in the season-one tourney, the former EliteXC champion suffered a decision loss to eventual tourney winner and current champ Joe Soto in a semifinal matchup.
He now meets Lierley, a former IFL fighter who's 5-0 when fighting at 145 pounds.
The tournament's second round takes place in early May and the finale will be held in late June, though exact dates have not been announced.
Each tournament winner stands to make nearly $100,000 in pay if he's able to compete in all three rounds. Typical fight-night injuries and quick turnaround times could spell disaster for Bellator's 12-week tourneys, but the season-one brackets went off with few problems. |
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