War Machine, Carlos Alexandre Pereira join Bellator's season-six welterweight tourney

Two fighters are the first confirmed participants for Bellator's upcoming season-six welterweight tournament.

Bellator officials today announced Carlos Alexandre Pereira (33-9-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) as an entrant in the eight-man tournament.

Additionally, as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported, War Machine (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BFC) – perhaps best known as UFC fighter Jon Koppenhaver before a legal name change – also is part of the tournament field, officials today confirmed.

The tourney kicks off in March on MTV2.

The 32-year-old Pereira has been fighting professionally since 2002. After opening his career with a rather pedestrian 9-7 record, Pereira since has gone 24-2-1 in his past 27 bouts. The lone blemishes during that six-year stretch include losses to Charles Andrade and Siyar Bahadurzada, as well as a a draw against recent Bellator signee Luis "Sapo" Santos. In 33 career wins, he owns 22 career knockouts.

War Machine, who went 1-1 with the UFC after a stint on "The Ultimate Fighter 6," was released in 2008 after making controversial comments about ex-UFC champ Evan Tanner's death and his decision to turn down a fight with then-little-known Brandon Wolff. Since then, he's posted a 7-2 record, which included a Nov. 26 third-round TKO of Roger Huerta in Texas. It was his first fight in nearly 17 months due to a recent incarceration.

In addition to the welterweight tournament, Bellator is hosting season-six tourneys in the bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and middleweight divisions. Each tourney winner gets $100,000 in total pay and a guaranteed title shot.

Karl Amoussou joins Bellator's season-six welterweight tournament

Karl Amoussou (13-4-2 MMA, 1-1 BFC) is making the full drop from middleweight to welterweight for Bellator's season-six tournament.

Officials today announced that Amoussou has joined the eight-man field for the 170-pound tourney.

Amoussou, an M-1 and Strikeforce vet, recently score a vicious first-round TKO of Jesus Martinez in a 175-pound catchweight fight at Bellator 59 to begin the drop in weight class.

He now joins Carlos Alexandre Pereira (33-9-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) and War Machine (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BFC) in the tourney, which kicks off in March on MTV2.

Amoussou made his Bellator debut back in May and suffered a close split-decision defeat to Sam Alvey (who went on to compete in a season-five middleweight tourney) at Bellator 45. Following the loss, the French-born Amoussou announced plans to move down to welterweight.

He now enters the tournament with a 8-3-1 mark in his past 12 fights. Included in the run was a draw with Trevor Prangley at Strikeforce Challengers 6 and a decision loss to Kazuhiro Nakamura at DREAM.15. Still, he has stopping power; 11 of his 13 career wins have come via stoppage.

In addition to the welterweight tournament, Bellator is hosting season-six tourneys in the bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and middleweight divisions. Each tourney winner gets $100,000 in total pay and a guaranteed title shot.

good start to the WW tourney line up. now that Hawn is gonna be wrecking cats at LW, there's a lot of room for position jockeying for the top of Bellator's WW rankings now.

i love bellator free mma every weekend with great fights.

fighters gain their own hype.

UFC Vet Foster Added to Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tourney

Before medical troubles cut short his Octagon run, Brian Foster was pegged by some pundits as a future UFC welterweight contender. Now, he’ll have the chance to go for gold in another organization.

Foster will make his Bellator Fighting Championships debut in the opening round of the company’s sixth-season 170-pound tournament, event sources Thursday confirmed to Sherdog.com.

The eight-man welterweight field now stands at half capacity, with Foster joining previously announced participants Karl Amoussou, War Machine and Carlos “Indio” Pereira. Bellator’s sixth season begins March 2 and airs live on MTV2, though the start date for the welterweight bracket is currently unknown.

Despite riding a two-fight win streak with decisive victories over Matt Brown and Forrest Petz, 27-year-old Foster was medically released by the UFC in September after suffering a brain hemorrhage and a burst testicle in separate training incidents. In October, the Oklahoma native returned from a 10-month hiatus and notched a pair of first-round submissions against British standout Jack Mason and Midwestern vet LaVerne Clark.

Foster, who has yet to go the distance in 23 professional fights, signed with Bellator in November and immediately set his sights on the promotion’s welterweight ace.

“I’m getting that belt,” Foster said. “I want to fight the best. I want to fight Ben Askren and take home that belt. I ran through my last two opponents and I’m better than I’ve ever been. I’m very happy to be a part of Bellator and I’m coming for the top spot.” In addition to a title shot, the winner of Bellator’s sixth-season welterweight tourney will earn $100,000 in total pay.

ZuffaKiller wrote:..Despite riding a two-fight win streak with decisive victories over Matt Brown and Forrest Petz, 27-year-old Foster was medically released by the UFC in September after suffering a brain hemorrhage and a burst testicle in separate training incidents..

Bryan Baker joins Bellator's season-six welterweight tourney

Bryan Baker has entered his third Bellator tournament. But this time, he's doing so in a new weight class.

Following a runner-up and semifinal finish in two earlier middleweight tournaments, Baker has joined the field for a season-six welterweight tourney.

Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney today announced the news.

The eight-man tourney kicks off in March, and the season airs on MTV2.

Baker now joins Brian Foster (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BFC), Karl Amoussou (13-4-2 MMA, 1-1 BFC), Carlos Alexandre Pereira (33-9-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) and War Machine (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BFC) in the tourney field.

Baker, a former WEC fighter, first joined Bellator in 2009. In 2010 he revealed he had been battling chronic myelogenous leukemia (a cancer of the white blood cells) but had done into remission. He's 3-1 since the news, and the lone loss came to Vitor Vianna in the semifinal round of Bellator's recent season-five middleweight tournament.

Baker has defeated many notables during his five-year career, including Matt Horwich, Eric Schambari, Jesse Forbes, Jeremy Horn and Joe Riggs. Eleven of his 16 wins have come via stoppage.

In addition to the welterweight tournament, Bellator is hosting season-six tourneys in the bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and middleweight divisions. Each tourney winner gets $100,000 in total pay and a guaranteed title shot.