CHICAGO, Ill. (January 29, 2010) – In the latest addition to its growing
Season 2 fighter roster, Bellator Fighting Championships announced today the
acquisition of middleweight and former WEC standout Eric Schambari.
Schambari, who boasts an 11-1 professional record, is in the midst of an
unlikely comeback from a career-threatening injury that forced him to sit
out all of 2008. He is a perfect 4-0 since his return.
“I watched Bellator last season and I just think it’s a great organization
with some really, really talented and exciting fighters,” the 31-year-old
Schambari said. “In this business, it’s all about finding the best possible
competition and Bellator has some of the best in the world.”
Schambari is the first fighter to be signed to compete in Bellator’s
eight-man Season 2 middleweight (185 lbs.) tournament. Bellator will also
conduct tournaments at 145, 155, and 170 lbs. during Season 2, which begins
April 8th. The winners in each division will be declared No. 1 contenders to
the current roster of champions.
“Eric is a very talented middleweight with what’s commonly referred to as
freak-strength,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Given who our
middleweight champion is, that’s a vital attribute to possess. On top of
that, the determination Eric’s shown during his comeback from a serious
injury is inspirational and shows the kind of heart he has.”
A native of Las Vegas, Schambari was working as a lifeguard at the Bellagio
hotel and casino just five years ago when he first decided to pursue MMA as
a full-time profession.
“I looked at my life, I was working a casino in Las Vegas, and I thought,
‘There’s something more for me in life than this,’” Schambari recalled. “So
I moved to Texas, started training and got my first fight.”
After compiling a perfect 5-0 record in various regional promotions in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area, Schambari moved back to Las Vegas and received an
invitation to join the WEC. He won his first two fights under that
promotion’s banner and then, in December 2007, lost a controversial split
decision-the only loss of his career-to eventual Bellator fighter Bryan “The
Beast” Baker.
Shortly thereafter, Schambari sustained a severe training injury and then
had an allergic reaction to a medication that, in his own words, “nearly
killed me.”
“After all that, I didn’t know if I’d be fighting again,” he admitted. “It
was tough.”
Eventually, against the advice of his doctors, he began training again and,
after about 14 months, returned to the cage in the best shape of his life.
In the nine months since, he’s compiled a perfect 4-0 record with only one
fight lasting past the first round.
Schambari says he’s excited to continue to prove himself on the national
stage created by Bellator’s landscape-altering TV distribution alliance.
Each of Bellator’s 24 fights during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed live
in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its regional sports
network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then
be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every
Saturday night, late night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in
Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m.
For more information, please visit Bellator.com <http://bellator.com/> .
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company
with offices in Los Angeles and 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.
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