Bellator Fighting Championships, the organization that will take full MMA events to ESPN airwaves for the first time, has made its first signing by inking Eddie Alavarez for its 2009 fight schedule.
"We're very happy to confirm that we’ve signed one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world," Bellator spokesperson Brian Saunders today told MMAjunkie.com.
Although details of the deal were not released, Alvarez is expected to compete in Bellator's eight-man lightweight tournament.
Bellator, which debuts in April 2009, will run 12 consecutive Friday-night events that air the following night on ESPN Deportes, ESPN's Spanish-language station. Eight-man tournaments will be held in four weight classes (bantamweight to middleweight), and non-tournament bouts will fill out each fight card. The events will take place in venues across the U.S.
Before he makes his Bellator debut, Alvarez will fight at least once more. He's scheduled to compete in January for Monte Cox's Extreme Challenge promotion.
