Bellator’s season five welterweight tournament kicks off Sept. 10 LIVE on MTV2 from Caesars Atlantic City.
The winner of the tournament will get an automatic title shot against the winner of the Bellator welterweight title fight between current champion Ben “Funky” Askren (8-0) and season four tournament winner Jay “The Thoroughbred” Hieron (22-4), which is expected to take place at an unspecified date later this year.
The eight-man tournament features:
• Luis “Sapo” Santos (49-6-1) vs. Dan “The Handler” Hornbuckle (22-4)
• Douglas “The Phenom” Lima (18-4) vs. Steve Carl (14-2)
• Ben Saunders (10-3-2) vs. Rick Hawn (11-1)
• Brent Weedman (18-6-1) vs. Chris “The Assassin” Lozano (8-1)
Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney commented on the tournament line-up:
“A lot of these guys were in our Season 4 Tournament, and after seeing some of the performances they put on, it was a no-brainer to bring a lot of them back. 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.”