Bellator Announces Season Four Welterweight Tourney; Dan Hornbuckle Named As Participant

Bellator announced today that season four of its tournament format MMA series will feature welterweights, and that the 170-pound tournament would feature Bellator and Sengoku veteran Dan Hornbuckle (#57 Welterweight). The tournament winner will take home $100,000 and a shot at Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren (#16). Askren, an NCAA champion wrestler and 2008 Olympian, defeated Hornbuckle in the season two finals.

“The fact that Ben Askren is going to be there waiting for me after I win this tournament keeps me motivated,” Hornbuckle is quoted in the press release. “It keeps me waking up every morning hungry. There’s never a loss that is taken easily, so I definitely want to get back in there, win this tournament, and avenge that loss.”

The promotion’s inaugural Light-Heavyweight Tournament is the only other officially-announced component of Bellator’s upcoming fourth season. In the coming weeks, Bellator will announce its season four tournament participants. To date, the only other announced fighters for season four are Daniel Gracie and Ron Sparks.

The promotion currently boasts champions in all men’s divisions but Flyweight and Light Heavyweight. Those champions are Zach Makovsky (#11 Bantamweight), Joe Warren (#2 Featherweight), Eddie Alvarez (#10 Lightweight), Ben Askren (#16 Welterweight), Hector Lombard (#6 Middleweight), Cole Konrad (#24 Heavyweight), and Zoila Frausto, who will likely be at the top of the heap when FIGHT! unveils its Women’s Flyweight Rankings.