Bellator Adds Dream Vet Joe Warren

[JKhrome1]

Bellator adds DREAM vet Joe Warren to season-two featherweight tourney

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Feb 01, 2010 at 9:45 am ET


Bellator's season-two tournaments continue to take shape, and the organization today announced another solid addition to the 145-pound field.

Three-time DREAM veteran and world-class wrestler Joe Warren (2-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) will compete in Bellator's next featherweight tournament.

Warren is best known to MMA fans as the man who knocked off former WEC champ Chase Beebe and top-ranked Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto in his first two professional contests before falling to Bibiano Fernandes in DREAM's 2009 featherweight grand prix.

"We are very excited about this signing and being the MMA organization that brought Joe back to the States," Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney stated in today's official release. "Joe has the ability, drive, confidence and personality to become a star in our sport.

"His first two wins would make a good career for most fighters, and as his stand-up continues developing, the sky is the limit for Joe Warren."

Warren was an accomplished freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestler before making the transition to mixed martial arts. A gold-medal winner in the World Championships and Pan American Championships, Warren began training in MMA just a few short months before his 2009 DREAM debut.

"My hands are getting quicker; I’m seeing the openings quicker," Warren stated. "I'm just getting better every single day. I’m already 1,000 times better than I was in my last fight.

"With my style and my experience and my never-lose, never-die attitude, it's gonna be really exciting for Bellator and for everyone who'll be watching on TV."

Warren joins Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (12-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC), Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) Bao Quach (17-9-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC), and William Romero (5-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) as confirmed participants in Bellator's season-two featherweight tournament, which kicks off on April 8.

"I competed for the U.S. for 10 years, and I bleed red, white and blue," Warren stated. "So I'm ready to come back to this country, make my U.S. debut and fight in front of the American MMA fans.

"I love everything that Bellator is doing and I’m just honored to be a part of their organization."

The winner of the eight-man bracket earns the right to face season-one winner and current Bellator featherweight champion Joe Soto.

Bellator's lucrative tournaments can earn each division's winner nearly $200,000 over three fights and three months. In addition to live shows on FSN, Bellator season-two and season-three programming also airs via highlights packages on NBC and Telemundo.