Undefeated Montana native Lloyd “Cupcake” Woodard (10-0) and 2000 Olympic judoka Ferrid “Hurricane” Kheder (18-5, 1 NC) of Tunisia will join Rob McCullough, Carey Vanier and Michael Chandler as confirmed participants for Bellator’s season four lightweight tournament.
The fourth season of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which features tournaments in four different weight classes, will begin airing live on MTV2 in March.
Woodard came from a high school wrestling background before he joined a local boxing gym and eventually turned his focus to MMA. After 13 victories as an amateur Woodard turned pro in 2008 and has not looked back.
Now with ten straight wins and six finishes, Woodard has his sights set on Bellator’s lightweight title held by Eddie Alvarez. He commented on a potential future fight with the champ:
“I’m ready to go out there and do what I love to do, which is fight hard and fight the best guys that are out there. I’m a really big fan of Eddie Alvarez and I would love to fight him. That would be a real step up. It would be like fighting my idol, so I plan on winning this tournament so I can fight him.”
Ferrid Kheder brings with him a strong judo background. A black belt, he has medaled several times in the World Cup and placed seventh in the 2000 Olympics. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt and currently trains at King’s MMA in Huntington Beach with the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Jason Miller and Mark Munoz.
As a mixed martial artist, Kheder turned pro in 2006 and has fought in organizations all over the world. What is probably his most notable win took place in Jan. 2009 in Oklahoma when he knocked out UFC veteran Drew Fickett in a C3 Fights main event.
MMA fans may remember hearing about Kheder’s controversial decision win over Hermes Franca at Xtreme Vale Tudo 5 in Costa Rica back in December. After tremendous backlash, the decision was eventually overturned to a No Contest by the promoter.
Kheder commented on being a participant in Bellator’s season four lightweight tournament:
“I’m absolutely determined to win this tournament. I think I’m one of the best in the world when I have the proper training and I’m fully prepared. I have three fights to win in this tournament, and then I’ll have the opportunity to fight for the title against one of the best lightweights in the world. I know this is a really huge opportunity for me.”
Stay close to ProMMAnow.com (www.prommanow.com) for the final lightweight tournament additions and match-ups, which will be announced in the coming days.