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CHICAGO, Ill. ( January 24, 2011) —Bellator Fighting Championships officially announced today that it will hold a Featherweight Tournament in the promotion’s highly anticipated fourth season airing LIVE on MTV2. Eight world class 145 lb. fighters will face off for a chance at claiming the Season 4 Featherweight Tournament Championship, a check for $100,000, and more importantly, a shot at the title against current Bellator World Featherweight Champion, World’s #2 ranked Featherweight and self proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet,” Joe Warren.

While announcements regarding all eight participants will follow, collegiate wrestling phenom Eric Larkin has been confirmed for Bellator’s third Featherweight Tournament. No stranger to Bellator fans, Larkin (3-0) enters the competition fresh off of an impressive first round submission victory over the previously undefeated Marcus Andrusia at Bellator 28 (Watch Here: http://bit.ly/hstwoe). The decorated wrestler has wasted no time in his MMA career to date, finishing all three of his fights as a professional in the very first round.

“I’m thrilled to announce Eric Larkin as our first confirmed participant in our upcoming Featherweight Tournament,” said Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Eric has unlimited potential in this sport, and I’m excited to see how he does in this stacked tournament.”

Fighting out of the Lion’s Den in Scottsdale, Arizona alongside Bellator World Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, Larkin began his professional MMA training in early 2009. Before his journey into the cage, Larkin wrestled his way to a 2003 National Championship at 149 pounds for Arizona State University, earned the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy, and picked up a 2003 ESPN ESPY Award nomination for best collegiate athlete. After nearly making the 2008 US Olympic squad, Larkin decided a new challenge was needed in his life, and MMA was the perfect opportunity. Now a confirmed participant in the Bellator Season 4 Featherweight Tournament, Larkin is ready to establish himself as one of the best in the division.

“I’m definitely looking forward to this upcoming tournament,” Larkin said. “I know there are going to be some really tough guys in there. I’m not taking anyone lightly. I’m going to do my thing and get after it. I like fighting back-to-back so it’s going to be fun.”

The tournament will mark the first time Larkin will fight as a featherweight, as his previous three victories came as a lightweight. While cutting weight can often be a challenge, Larkin sees it as anything but.

“The major benefits I’m going to get from dropping down to 145 are primarily going to be strength and leverage,” said Larkin. “I definitely feel like I’m going to be stronger at 145 than I would be at 155. At lightweight, there are guys cutting down from 180 and 190 to make the weight and I’m not even close to that. I think this cut to featherweight is going to be great for me.”

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.

The 26-year-old Huerta (20-3-1) comes to Bellator in the prime of his career
after a 3½-year run in the UFC, where he rose to international prominence
with wins over top talents like Clay Guida, Leonard Garcia and John
Halverson and became the first MMA fighter ever to be featured on the cover
of Sports Illustrated.

Huerta, also known as “El Matador,” joins a well-rounded 155 lbs. tournament
field that also includes Season 1 runner-up Toby Imada, former Olympian
Ferrid Kheder, undefeated Canadian phenom Mike Ricci, European stalwart
Janne Tulirinta, the undefeated Chad Hinton and former All-American wrestler
Carey Vanier. Each tournament fight will be broadcast live in prime time on
FOX Sports Net every Thursday night beginning April 8th and replayed in
special highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo every Saturday night beginning
April 10th.

If Huerta can win the April-May-June lightweight tournament, he would win
the chance to challenge the world’s No. 2-rated lightweight and reigning
Bellator World Champion Eddie Alvarez in a title bout this fall.

“The chance to be a part of this year’s Bellator tournament was an
opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up,” Huerta said. “I think Bellator is
the next big thing in this sport. I love the tournament format and the
awesome talent that they have at 155 will give me a chance to prove myself
as one of the top lightweights in the world.”

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney, meanwhile, called Huerta “one of the
most exciting and accomplished lightweights in the world.”

“Roger is truly a young man who has defied the odds to achieve greatness,”
Rebney said.   “Adding Roger to our 155 division and tournament is a great
signing for Bellator that provides us the ability to showcase him on
national television upwards of three times before summer (provided he wins).
His personal story is inspirational.  He has not had an easy road, but has
fought hard and persevered.  It’s hard not to root for a guy who has
triumphed over adversity like he has.”

Huerta suffered through a heartbreakingly difficult childhood. He was born
in Los Angeles to Lydia and Rogelio Huerta, but the couple’s rocky
relationship and struggles with substance abuse and mental illness soon
began to take a toll on their son.

When Roger was around 5 years old, Lydia discovered that Rogelio was having
an affair and took out her anger on Roger, subjecting him to emotional abuse
and regular beatings that left him covered in bruises. Soon, this was
discovered by his teachers and Roger was placed in a foster home.

Despite being stripped of custody, Lydia somehow managed to flee with her
son to her native El Salvador, where she lived with Roger for more than a
year as that country was embroiled a brutal civil war. Eventually she
returned with Roger to the U.S. and dropped him at Rogelio’s house in
Dallas. Roger never saw his mother again, but his troubles were far from
over.

Over the next six years, he bounced back and forth between his father’s
drug-infested house in Texas – where he was again subjected to regular
beatings, this time at the hands of his father’s new wife—and Mexico, where
he lived with his impoverished grandparents and was forced to sell picture
frames and rosaries on the streets for hours a day.

At around the age of 12, he was kicked out of father’s house and found
himself homeless, sleeping on rooftops and in alleyways and running with a
notorious local youth gang. He stayed in school, though—mostly for the free
breakfast and lunch.

By high school, he had left the gang and began living with the families of
classmates in Austin, Texas. He became one of his school’s most popular
students, excelled at sports (particularly wrestling), and, with the help of
his English teacher, Jo Ramirez and his wrestling coach Bryan Ashford, won a
wrestling scholarship from Augsburg College in Minneapolis.

It didn’t take Huerta long, though, to realize that his brawler-style
fighting skills were better suited for the cage. He became fascinated with
MMA after watching an Augsburg teammate’s amateur fight and soon began
training with former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne.

He took his first professional fight in 2003 while still a teenager, just a
few months after he was legally adopted by Ramirez, the English teacher who
helped change his life. She will be among the millions watching when Roger
makes his Bellator debut next month.

“My one and only goal right now is getting through the lightweight
tournament,” Huerta said. “I’m in the best shape of my life and I just can’t
wait to get back in the cage. I see nothing but good things to come for me
and for Bellator.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com <http://bellator.com/> , follow
Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Bellator
<http://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.

The 29-year-old Lierley-who was a top college wrestler while earning his
bachelor’s degree in economics and political science at New York
University-is perhaps best-known for his legendary 2007 fight against
one-time IFL poster boy Chris Horodecki. Despite his wrestling background
(and the fact that he was fighting at 155 lbs.), Lierley stood toe-to-toe
with Horodecki for three full rounds, delivering one of the most dramatic
and action-packed fights in the IFL’s short history.

“Shad Lierley has been part of some great fights. If you ever want to see an
awesome highlight reel watch his fight with Chris Horodecki, which Shad took
at 155 even though he’s a legit 145 fighter,” said Bellator founder and CEO
Bjorn Rebney. “He is another solid addition to our featherweight
tournament.”

Leirley is the seventh featherweight to be announced as a participant in the
eight-man tournament along with Georgi Karakhanyan, Joe Warren, Patricio
Pitbull, Bao Quach, William Romero and Wilson Reis. Bellator will also
conduct tournaments at 155, 170 and 185 lbs. with the winners in each
division being declared No. 1 contenders to the current Bellator champions.

Each of Bellator’s 24 Season 2 and 3 events will be broadcast on FOX Sports
Net, NBC and Telemundo.

Lierley was born in Utah but moved at a young age to Alaska with his parents
and eight siblings. He was a four-time state wrestling finalist and was
named as Alaska’s Wrestler of the Year during his senior year, earning him
an invitation to continue his career at NYU. There, he became one of the
best wrestlers in the school’s history and held the No. 1 national ranking
during his sophomore year.

After graduating, Lierley considered a wide variety of career paths, but
found himself being drawn toward professional fighting. In 2006, a wrestling
buddy encouraged him to try out for the IFL and he earned a spot in that
organization.

“When I started college, I never planned to get involved in MMA, but it’s
what I fell into and I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “There are a lot of
well-educated people who have a lot of options in front of them and they
choose fighting. It’s a great sport and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

As a professional, Lierley is a perfect 5-0 when fighting at 145, with his
only two losses (against Horodecki and eventual IFL Featherweight Champion
Wagnney Fabiano) coming at 155. His most recent win came during Bellator IX
last May in Monroe, La.

“I found out then that Bellator is just an awesome organization,” Lierley
said. “They’re doing some great things in MMA and the talent they’ve been
recruiting is just phenomenal. There’s going to be a lot of fireworks come
springtime and I think I’m going to be a part of that. I wouldn’t have
signed if I didn’t think I could win this tournament.”

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.

CHICAGO, Ill. (February 16, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships, a
first-of-its-kind mixed martial arts promotion that will debut its second
season this April on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo, has announced a
contest to recruit talented women to serve as the company’s official
spokesmodels and round card girls – the Bellator Girls – in 2010.

Selected Bellator Girls will have the opportunity to travel around the
country with Bellator Fighting Championships and will appear on the
promotion’s nationally televised events, at various appearances for the
brand and at various Bellator event related activities. Interested
candidates must have excellent communications skills, a vivacious and
outgoing personality as well as outstanding camera presence.  Appearing at
all 22 live events, the Bellator Girls will be given national television and
live event exposure on a weekly basis from April to November 2010.

Job responsibilities will include:

-Serving as “round card” girls at Bellator events;

-Appearing at promotional events such as fighter

weigh-ins and press events;

-Interaction with sponsors and making appearances at
sponsor related events,  and

-Professional photo shoots for Bellator promotional
materials/videos, products, etc.

How to Apply Online:

1.      Visit www.Bellator.com/BellatorGirls

2.      Fill out all required information including name, address, and age

3.      Attach all required materials or links including photos and resume

4.      Attach or add link to video submission

5.      Read the terms and conditions and check, “I Agree to these terms”

6.      Press the Submit button

How to Apply Via Mail:

1.      Send all required materials including name, address, age, photos,
resume and video to the following address:

Bellator Fighting Championships: Bellator Girl Search

445 N Wells St.

Suite 401

Chicago, IL 60654

Additional requirements:

-          All applicants must be at least 18 years old;

-          All applicants must be able to travel three days a week between
the months of April and November 2010;

-          All applicants must be legal residents of the United States;

-          In their application video, applicants should provide a specific
answer to the question of why they would be the best choice to become a
Bellator Girl;

-          Pictures and videos must showcase physical and verbal talents;
and

-          All applicants must be willing to submit to background checks and
drug testing.

After receiving application submissions, Bellator will choose finalists who
will be flown to Chicago for in-person interviews beginning in March 2010.
At the culmination of the interview process, three winners will be chosen
along with two alternates.

Winners will begin traveling with the Bellator team in April 2010.
Compensation will be disclosed to finalists.

For more information, visit www.Bellator.com <http://www.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 team  is comprised of
experienced fighting sports and entertainment professionals 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.

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.

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.

another piece in place for its second season today with the announcement
that Judo master and former Olympian Ferrid “Hurricane” Kheder will compete
in the promotion’s upcoming lightweight tournament.

Kheder, who placed seventh in the Judo competition at the 2000 Summer
Olympics in Sydney, has quickly compiled a solid 16-5 MMA record since
giving up Judo to fight full-time in the cage just three years ago. His
transition to MMA was put into overdrive in 2008 when he began training
under the famed Shawn Tompkins. Since the two teamed up, Kheder has won 11
of his 12 fights.

“I see Ferrid as a real star that’s just waiting to explode,” Tompkins said.
“He’s one of those guys who’s flown under the radar so far, but in the
meantime he’s been able to focus on learning how to incorporate all the
other MMA skills into his judo. With that combination, I think he’s really
going to be tough to beat.”

Kheder is the second fighter to be named by Bellator as a competitor in the
promotion’s upcoming eight-man lightweight tournament. The other is 5-0 Mike
Ricci, a regular training partner to Georges Saint-Pierre.

Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 170 and 185 lbs. with the
winners of this season’s tournaments being declared No. 1 contenders to
Bellator’s current roster of champions. Each of Bellator’s 24 events during
Seasons 2 and 3 will be televised on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo.
Kheder is the second former Olympian who will be participating in Bellator’s
Season 2 tournaments. The other is welterweight Ben Askren, a former Olympic
wrestler.

“Ferrid Kheder is a world-class athlete who has already competed at the
highest levels and now he’s working with one of MMA’s top coaches to further
hone his skills,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Ferrid’s
career has kicked into high-gear over his last dozen fights and he will be
very tough for anyone in our 155 tournament.”

The 35-year-old Kheder was born in France to a Spanish mother and Tunisian
father. He holds a third-degree judo black belt as well as a Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu brown belt.

He began training judo at the age of four and, over the course of his
25-plus-year career, has won 13 national titles, eight continental medals
and two continental titles in Europe. He joined the French National Team in
1993 at the age of 18 and eventually represented that country at the 2000
Olympics, where he finished seventh. Soon after, he moved to the Tunisian
National Team, where he stayed until 2004.

Around that time, Kheder contemplated giving up fighting sports altogether
but soon became convinced that he could enjoy a career renaissance of sorts
by switching to MMA.

Accordingly, he moved to Sydney and began training with Hector Lombard, now
Bellator’s reigning World Middleweight Champion. He came to the United
States in 2007 and landed with Team Tompkins about a year later. He now
trains at Tompkins’ TapouT gym in Las Vegas.

“I’m a judo guy through and through, but I’ve adapted my skills to MMA,” he
said. “I’ve worked hard on my ground game and my striking and I believe I’m
ready to take it to the next level. Bellator is a great promotion . they
respect their athletes and put on some great shows. I’m very excited for the
opportunity.”

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.