A press release put out by Bellator Fighting Championships announces the first round of fights for their upcoming welterweight tournament:
Bellator Announces Welterweight Tournament Fights
April 15th
Ben Askren (3-0) vs. Ryan Thomas (10-3)April 22nd
Dan Hornbuckle (19-2) vs. Sean Pierson (9-4)
Jacob McClintock (6-0) vs. “Judo” Jim Wallhead (18-5)
Steve Carl (12-1) vs. Brett Cooper (12-5)
This is a very loaded tournament when it comes to major prospects but one fight really jumps out at me from this first round.
Ben Askren vs. Ryan Thomas - Thomas, a UFC veteran, is a big step up for Askren. Ben’s previous fight was against 13-9 Matt Delanoit. Thomas fell victim to armbars by both Matt Brown and Ben Saunders in his two UFC fights. Askren has a very good ground game, so it’s likely that his gameplan remains to force Thomas to work off his back and look for openings. In a season full of good fights this is one of the absolute most interesting.
SB Nation will have more information as additional fights are announced.
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