Nazareno Malegarie Confirmed As Season Four Bellator Featherweight Tournament Participant

Not much is known about Nazareno Malegarie, but the interest is high. A jiu-jitsu black belt who trains out of Brazi, he trains alongside UFC veteran Thiago Tavares. There's not much to say about this signing early on. It could be the word of mouth recommendation from more well-known MMA figures or perhaps Malegarie impressed Bellator staff. Either way, he's an interesting addition to the tournament. From the Bellator press release:

Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the final participant in the Season Four Featherweight Tournament, adding undefeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Nazareno "Naza" Malegarie to the already impressive list of featherweight fighters. Malegarie joins Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, Wilson Reis, Daniel Straus, Georgi Karakhanyan, Zac George, Kenny Foster, and Eric Larkin as the other confirmed participants in the featherweight tournament, which will air LIVE on MTV2 in March.

Fighting out of the Ataque Duplo gym in Brazil, Malegarie (19-0) initially began his training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at just 12-years-old before ultimately becoming a Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Champion. With a series of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships under his belt, "Naza" began his MMA training with UFC veteran Thiago Tavares and through the training was inspired to make MMA a profession. Having already established a reputation as one of the most dangerous and promising featherweights in Brazil with 17 finishes in his 19 victories as a professional, Malegarie is eager to prove himself to fans in the United States.