|
|
Monday, January 19, 2009
Reis Official with Bellator FC
Former Elite XC bantamweight champion Wilson Reis is bound for Bellator Fighting Championships, the emerging MMA promotion announced in a press release on Monday.
The Brazilian grappling standout was first rumored to join Bellator at its public inception, but the release confirmed his exclusive participation.
Stranded by the fall of Pro Elite, Reis is the first of its former champions to make a formal break for another MMA organization.
Reis will be one of eight 145 lb. fighters in Bellator's featherweight division. He will compete in the first round of a multi-weight class tournament taking place on Apr. 4 in a located to be announced. ESPN Deportes, the Spanish arm of American sports channel ESPN, will broadcast the event as the first of twelve specials in 2009.
The promotion also promises superfights along with the tournament format.
"Wilson has unlimited potential at 145," said Bjorn Rebney, CEO of Bellator Fighting Championships. "He has a terrific grappling pedigree, an unbelievable work ethic and he's getting better every time he fights. He's exactly the kind of fighter we're looking to showcase at Bellator Fighting Championships."Labels: Bellator FC, EliteXC, Wilson Reis
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 7:33 PM
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Do EliteXC Fighters Fit the WEC Mold? Maybe...
 World Extreme Cagefighting vice president Peter Dropick was recently asked if the WEC had any interest in signing fighters from the now defunct EliteXC promotion... specifically K.J. Noons, Nick Diaz, and Wilson Reis.
"I know our matchmakers are look at any fighters that are available. I don't know their contractual situations. There are a handful of guys that make sense, and there are some that just wouldn't make sense," Dropick replied.
Although he couldn't really commit to any specific fighters due to EliteXC and its fighters still being mired in a web of legal entanglements, the VP did sound like he was interested in bringing some of the top EliteXC talent to the WEC.
"I don't know specifically if we've talked to anyone or legally if we can talk to anyone at this point, but absolutely we're keeping an eye on that situation. We want the best guys in the world and those guys that are available we've got a lot to offer them."
One of the biggest questions surrounding EliteXC's collapse has been what will happen to the female fighters. Gina Carano has developed a certain amount of star power, and EliteXC had also attracted a number of other top female fighters like Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, Sarah Kaufman, Tonya Evinger, Kelly Kobold, and others among them.
Unfortunately for the female EliteXC fighters and their fans, it doesn't appear that the UFC's sister promotion currently has any more interest in their services than does the UFC itself. Asked if there had been any discussion about bringing any of the female fighters into the WEC fold, Dropick simply replied, "No, there hasn't."Labels: Cristiane Cyborg Santos, EliteXC, Gina Carano, K.J. Noons, Kelly Kobold, Nick Diaz, Peter Dropick, Sarah Kaufman, Tonya Evinger, WEC, Wilson Reis
posted by MMAInsiderBLOG @ 1:00 AM
Copyright 2009 MMA Weekly LLC. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of MMA Weekly content is expressly prohibited without expressed written consent of MMA Weekly. MMA Weekly will not be liable for any errors in content or any action taken in reliance thereof.
|
|
|
|
MMA Insider Blog RSS Feed
