CHICAGO, Ill. (February 1, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships announced
today that three-time world champion Greco-Roman wrestler and
highly-sought-after MMA prodigy Joe Warren has signed a long-term
promotional agreement with Bellator and will compete in the promotion’s
upcoming featherweight (145 lbs.) tournament this April on FOX Sports Net,
NBC and Telemundo.
Warren is known throughout MMA for making one of the most remarkable debuts
in the sport’s history, knocking off former WEC Champion Chase Beebe and
Japanese superstar Kid Yamamoto in his first two professional fights. The
Beebe bout, Warren admits, “was the first time I ever taped my hands or wore
a cup,” and it came just three months after he first began MMA training.
“We are very excited about this signing and being the MMA organization that
brought Joe back to the states,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
“Joe has the ability, drive, confidence and personality to become a star in
our sport. His first two wins would make a good career for most fighters and
as his stand-up continues developing, the sky is the limit for Joe Warren.”
The 33-year-old Warren has been competing at a world-class level for years,
training with the U.S Olympic Team and taking home gold medals at the 2006
Pan-Am Games, the 2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships and the 2007
Wrestling World Cup. Before that, he was an All-American freestyle wrestler
at the University of Michigan. He made his stunning MMA debut last spring in
Japan’s DREAM Grand Prix tournament.
“I competed for the USA for 10 years and I bleed red, white and blue,”
Warren said. “So I’m ready to come back to this country, make my U.S. debut
and fight in front of the American MMA fans. I love everything that Bellator
is doing and I’m just honored to be a part of their organization.”
Warren, who is a member of the famed Team Quest, said he is focused now on
continuing to hone his stand-up game, an education that has been accelerated
by his experiences training with other top-caliber fighters including former
WEC Champion Urijah Faber, Pride FC Champion Dan Henderson and WEC standout
Scott Jorgensen.
“My hands are getting quicker, I’m seeing the openings quicker . I’m just
getting better every single day. I’m already 1,000 times better than I was
in my last fight,” he said. “With my style and my experience and my
never-lose, never-die attitude, it’s gonna be really exciting for Bellator
and for everyone who’ll be watching on TV.”
Among those who’ll certainly be watching are Warren’s wife, Christy Cech,
and their 18-month-old son, Xandr Achilles Warren. The couple is expecting
their second child in March.
“My family has always been behind me and they believe in me a lot, which
drives me,” Warren said. “I’m a family man, but I’m also a warrior. I’ve
been through a lot of battles in my life so I thrive on it. In the heat of
battle, some people turn, some people run and some people stand up and
fight. I see this as a battle and I can promise that I’m gonna stand up in
fight.”
Warren is entering a lions den in Bellator’s eight-man Season 2
featherweight tournament where competitors include Georgi Karakhanyan,
William Romero, Patricio Pitbull and Bao Quach. Bellator will also conduct
tournaments at 155, 170 and 185 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.
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, visit Bellator.com <http://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
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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