Bellator Fighting Championships announces signing of Wilson Reis

by Press Release on Jan 20, 2009 9:12 AM EST

Los Angeles, Calif. -- Bellator Fighting Championships, a first of its kind Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion, officially announced today the exclusive signing of elite grappler Wilson Reis. Reis will enter the inaugural season as a member of the Featherweight (145 lb.) division of Bellator’s tournament style events, premiering on ESPN Deportes April 4, 2009.

A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) phenom moved to Philadelphia in 2007 to further his career in MMA. Upon arriving in the United States, Reis kept his nose to the grindstone, earning his black belt from BJJ instructor Roberto Godoi. After just over a year in the U.S., Reis has built an unblemished 6-0 record while not only training himself, but also instructing other fighters at Daddis Martial Arts, one of Philadelphia’s most respected MMA schools. Reis’ stellar achievements include becoming the EliteXC Bantamweight Champion and the World Champion Black Belt from Brazil.

"Wilson has unlimited potential at 145," said Bjorn Rebney, CEO of Bellator Fighting Championships. "He has a terrific grappling pedigree, an unbelievable work ethic and he’s getting better every time he fights. He’s exactly the kind of fighter we’re looking to showcase at Bellator Fighting Championships."

Bellator Fighting Championships’ premiere season consists of 12 two-hour events to be broadcast weekly in primetime on Saturday nights. The nationally televised events will feature a combination of tournament and non-tournament special feature bouts. There will be four simultaneous tournaments taking place in season #1 over a three month period: one in each of the Featherweight (145 lb.), Lightweight (155 lb.), Welterweight (170 lb.) and Middleweight (185 lb.) divisions.

Bellator’s interactive Web site, www.bellator.com, featuring event and fighter information, behind the scenes video footage, fight clips and live interaction with Bellator fighters will go live in late January 2009.

About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. Bellator’s founders, Bjorn Rebney and Brad Epstein, are experienced sports and entertainment professionals 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 (including Rob Beiner, winner of 12 Emmy awards for sports programming), fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

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Slowly but surely this bellator thing has been signing some decent fighters. of Course I gotta roll with my hometown (Philly) fighters Reis and Alvarez!

This show should be on eSPN, not deportes!

by john on Jan 20, 2009 9:15 AM EST reply actions

Why are these Elite XC guys able to sign with Bellator and not the UFC? Do their contracts specify say that they are able to sign with anyone except the UFC?

by El Mexicutioner, formerly The Mexicutioner on Jan 20, 2009 9:44 AM EST up reply actions

Id guess that the Elite XC guys can sign with any org on the condition it was a non exclusive contract, signing with the UFC would obviously result in a exclusive contract. Which would of interfered with Elite XC’s business. That’s my guess anyway.

by Stefan Manojlovic on Jan 20, 2009 9:52 AM EST up reply actions

i have been wondering the same thing for a while now Mex!

by john on Jan 20, 2009 9:53 AM EST up reply actions

Non-rigged fights also interfere with EliteXC’s business.

by PW on Jan 20, 2009 10:13 AM EST up reply actions

What stefan said and I bet elite is also cutting down its roster to the bare essentials. They can only sell a streamlined zombieXC. It probly costs too much trying to hold down so many fighters(lawyer fees, what not)

by NameNotRequired on Jan 20, 2009 7:24 PM EST up reply actions

why is THales Leites traininhg with CB Dollaway and Bader in Arizona for his up coming fight against Anderson?

Only thing I can think of is that Leites has no intentions of standing with Anderson. He is probably sharpening up his wrestling up at Arizona so that he can better wrestle Anderson to the ground and work for submissions.

by john on Jan 20, 2009 9:36 AM EST reply actions

WRESTLING was going to be my one word answer for you John. Or rather, I should make the word even more specific and say that he is training there for one reason – TAKEDOWNS!

Thales does have some of the worst standup in the MW division so standing with Anderson would (do I need to continue this sentence?)

And I’m with you on this whole deportes thing. So basically, if we want to watch teh Bellator Fighting Championships live on a Saturday night, we have to listen to it being announced in Spanish? Most TV’s nowadays have a “SAP” button that you can press so that English tv stations will be broadcast in Spanish, however, I have yet to see an “ENG” button for the reverse.

by ViolentMike on Jan 20, 2009 11:02 AM EST up reply actions