Bellator Fighting Championships' upcoming season-five welterweight tournament kicks off Sept. 10 in New Jersey.
Bellator officials today announced the lineup for the eight-man bracket, which kicks off at Bellator 49.
Dan Hornbuckle vs. Luis Santos, Ben Saunders vs. Rick Hawn, Brent Weedman vs. Chris Lozano and Douglas Lima vs. Steve Carl fill the evening's MTV2-broadcast main card, which takes place at Caesars Atlantic City.
Hawn, Hornbuckle, Lozano and Weedman all participated in the promotion's season-four tournament. Carl returns after competing in season two.
The winner of the season-five tourney earns a shot at the winner of an upcoming bout between current Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren and season-four tournament winner Jay Hieron.
"A lot of these guys were in our season-four tournament, and after seeing some of the performances they put on, it was a no-brainer to bring a lot of them back," Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stated. "With newcomers to the tournament like Ben Saunders, Douglas Lima and Luis Santos, the winner of the title fight between Ben Askren and Jay Hieron will have a great fight on his hands."
Hornbuckle (22-4 MMA, 3-2 BFC) makes his third attempt at Bellator tourney success. "The Handler" was ousted in season two by now-champion Askren and in season four by Brent Weedman. Both results came via decision. He'll start his season-five effort against "Sapo" Santos (49-6-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC), who made his Bellator debut in May and is currently riding a nine-fight unbeaten streak.
Seven-time UFC veteran Saunders (10-3-2 MMA, 1-0 BFC) looks to build on the strength of a brutal TKO win over Matt Lee at Bellator 39. He'll face judoka Hawn (11-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC), who suffered his first professional loss in a Bellator season-four tournament final bout with Hieron.
Weedman (18-6-1 MMA, 4-1 BFC) returns after falling to Hieron in the semifinals of season four. The loss snapped a 10-fight win streak for Weedman. He'll open against Lozano (8-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC), who was defeated by Lyman good in the opening round of Bellator's season-four playoff.
Brazilian prospect Lima (18-4 MMA, 0-0 BFC) makes his debut for the promotion. He'll risk a six-fight win streak against Carl (14-2 MMA, 2-1 BFC), who has tasted defeat just once in his past 10 fights.
Source: Bellator 49 hosts season-five welterweight tourney; eight-man bracket revealed