CHICAGO, Ill. (August 17, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships today announced that Bellator Season 2 welterweight semi-finalist Steve Carl (10-2-0) will take on fellow Iowa-native, hard-hitting UFC veteran Rory Markham (16-6-0) at Bellator 26 taking place at the Kansas City Power & Light District on Aug. 26th.

Carl is coming off of a loss to Season 2 runner-up Dan Hornbuckle at Bellator 19 last May. Prior to the defeat Carl held an impressive seven fight win-streak. Carl’s budding mixed martial arts career is just four years old, but he already has notched 10 impressive wins with six victories coming by way of submission. The Iraq War veteran now faces one of the toughest fights in his young career when he faces off with the always exciting Rory Markham.

Markham, a product of the Miletich Martial Arts camp out of Bettendorf, Iowa, has yet to see a judge’s decision in his 22 fight career. With sixteen total wins in his six-year plus career, eleven have come via KO or TKO. The 28-year-old fighter showed a combative spirit at a young age, getting involved in traditional Karate and eventually competing in tournaments where he became affiliated with legendary trainer Pat Miletich. With an established willingness to stand and trade, there is no question that Markhamwill bring-it in his Bellator 26 match-up with Carl.

However, Carl is no stranger to a challenge. Just yesterday he received his honorable discharge papers from the U.S. Army, ending an eight-year service commitment that included a tour of Iraq. Carl became interested in MMA while stationed in Fort Hood, Texas.

“As an MMA fan, I’m really looking forward to this fight,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Markham is one of the toughest guys in the sport and Carl showed huge tenacity in his fight with Brett Cooper—this should be a great fight.”

Tickets for the event – which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights – are on sale now at ticketmaster.com

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.

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PRESS RELEASE / CHICAGO, Ill. (August 12, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships officially announced today that Russian heavyweight Alexey Oleinik is the latest and final addition to the Bellator Season 3 World Heavyweight Tournament. The Judo black belt is not only one of the most respected fighters in Russia, but also one of the most dangerous heavyweight submission specialists in the sport. Oleinik brings a phenomenal 27-5-1 record to the tournament with 23 of those 27 victories coming via submission.

“Alexey Oleinik is a great final addition to this stacked heavyweight tournament,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He’s one of the most threatening and versatile heavyweights in the sport with extremely dangerous submission skills, which makes him a legitimate threat to anyone he faces in the heavyweight division.”

The 33-year old was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine but currently fights out of Moscow. He trains out of Red Devil Sports Club and is a Master of Sports in Sambo. Oleinik is known and feared for the rare Ezekiel Choke finish which he has used successfully on six of his previous opponents.

Oleinik met fellow heavyweight tournament participant Rogent Lloret last August where the two fought to a draw, setting up a potentially interesting rematch opportunity in Bellator Season 3. Oleinik holds impressive victories over the likes of Jessie Gibbs and Thiago “Big Monster” Santos.

Oleinik is the eight confirmed participant in the forthcoming Season 3 Heavyweight World Tournament along with undefeated European sensation Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski, Seattle-area knockout artist Mike “300″ Hayes, Georgia-based ground and pound specialist Scott Barrett, Spanish submission ace Lloret, two-time NCAA wrestling champion Cole Konrad, and British-based slugger Neil Grove (who eliminated heavy-handed UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez via TKO Thursday night at Bellator 24).

Andy Bolton and Ollie Williamson benching 9th August 2010.

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Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Joao Assis will be offering a seminar this weekend. Assis is known for his recent defeat of Xande Ribeiro to win $10,000 in prize money at Grapplers Quest.

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PRESS RELEASE / CHICAGO, Ill. (August 10, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships today confirmed that Angela Magana has suffered a stress fracture to her right big toe that has subsequently forced her out of her scheduled Bellator 24 match-up with Megumi Fujii (20-0). Magana’s injury has provided an opening for undefeated Two-Time NCAA All American wrestler Carla Esparza (3-0) to step up to the challenge and face the World’s #1 female fighter at Bellator 24 in the Season 3 Women’s Tournament kicking off on August 12th at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Esparza, the former two-time NCAA All American wrestler out of Menlo College in Atherton, California. A product of the highly touted Team Oyama is coming off of an impressive performance in her third professional fight against Strikeforce veteran Lacey Schuckman less than a month ago. Esparza secured a fight-ending rear-naked choke halfway through the second round.

“Angela’s unfortunate injury provides a spectacular opportunity for Carla. The two time All–American Wrestler has been working intensively with Team Oyama and now she has the opportunity to shock the world of women’s MMA.,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “I have great respect for Carla’s willingness to step up on short notice to face Megumi Fujii. She comes into this fight with a pure fighters attitude, she’s not here to survive, she’s coming here to win.

Fujii is widely regarded as the No.1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world. She was trained in MMA by Shooto veteran Hiroyuki Abe and top heavyweight Josh Barnett and is known for her quick takedowns and skilled submissions. In fact, 16 of the 20 Japanese MMA sensation’s wins have come via submission.

However, Esparza plans on countering with her wrestling ability.

“I definitely think my wrestling is going to play a huge factor in this fight with Fujii,” said Esparza. “I don’t think she’s ever encountered a wrestler that has my striking ability. It’s not going to be a grappling match. She’s going to have to worry about my wrestling and my striking.”

“If I wasn’t in shape and ready for this fight I wouldn’t have taken it. With just three days notice I’m not going to be as prepared as I’d like to be, but I’m not going in there to survive for three rounds – I’m going in there to win.”

The two fighters join an impressive crop of female fighters competing in the Bellator Season 3 Women’s Tournament with 7-1 knockout artist Zoila Frausto, 12-5 Seattle submission specialist Lisa Ward, 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene, 5-1 Las Vegas-based powerhouse Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez, 9-0 Irish sensation Aisling Daly, and 8-4 American Top Team product Jessica Aguilar.

Additionally, in a late undercard switch up, Farakhad Sharipov (11-3) replaces Chino Duran and takes on Eric Luke in a featherweight contest.

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 05, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that dynamic striker and Macon, GA native Bryan Goldsby has officially been added to the Bellator Season 3 World Bantamweight Tournament.

Goldsby sent a direct message to Bellator officials during Bellator 14 when he out-classed MMA trailblazer and heavily favored WEC veteran Jeff Curran in Curran’s hometown of Chicago, IL. With the victory Goldsby staked his claim as one of the eight participants in Bellator’s upcoming 135 lb tournament.

Goldsby is the sixth confirmed participant in the Bantamweight Tournament along with the explosive Jose Vega, young up-and-comer Danny Tims, Las Vegas-based Cobra-Kai Jiu-Jitsu instructor Ulysses Gomez, fast-rising Wyoming native Nick Mamalis and Minnesota-based powerhouse Travis “The Hurricane” Reddinger.

“Bryan Goldsby is one of those guys, very much like Toby Imada, whose record does not reflect the tremendous skill and potential that he brings to the sport,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He has very solid stand-up game mixed with speed and wrestling, which he displayed in his impressive victory over Jeff Curran, and that makes him an difficult match up for anyone in this tournament.”

Goldsby’s well-rounded ability comes from his diverse training background. He began wrestling in 7th grade before getting his start in Tae Kwon Do when he was just 12 years old. After finishing his military career in 2006 Goldsby began training jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai, to completely hone his game.

With a new level of confidence that stems directly from his recent victory over Curran, Goldsby fully intends to continue in his winning ways on his quest to become Bellator’s first ever bantamweight champion.

“When I get in there, I’m comfortable because I can hang wherever the fight goes,” said Goldsby. “I feel like I have the skills to beat anybody, I’m fine with whoever they decided to put in front of me. I’m just excited for the opportunity and itching to get this thing started.”