Frausto Confirmed for Bellator Season 4 Debut

Zoila Frausto (left) | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Bellator 115-pound women’s champion Zoila Frausto will return to the cage March 5 as she competes at Bellator 35 from the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif.

Sherdog.com previously reported Frausto's speculated involvement in the event, and Thursday the fighter confirmed the report by announcing the news over Facebook. It is currently unknown whether Frausto will defend her title, and her opponent has not yet been named.

A Strikeforce veteran, Frausto rides a five-fight winning streak heading into the bout. The only blemish on the career of “The Warrior Princess” came last March when she was submitted by 135-pound contender Miesha Tate at Strikeforce “Challengers 7.”

Frausto made her Bellator debut in June, knocking out Rosi Sexton in the first round of their 121-pound catchweight affair at Bellator 23. Frausto then rattled off three straight victories to become Bellator's first-ever 115-pound queen. The 27-year-old outpointed Jessica Pene, Jessica Aguilar and the previously unbeaten Megumi Fujii en route to claiming the tournament crown.

Though no bouts have been officially announced for the March 5 event, the promotion's third welterweight tournament is expected to begin. Also expected are appearances by Waachiim Spiritwolf and Poppies Martinez against to-be-named opponents.

View the original article here

McCullough First Confirmed for Bellator Lightweight Tournament

“Razor” Rob McCullough | Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com

With its 135- and 170-pound tournament rosters set, Bellator Fighting Championships has begun to fill its 155-pound bracket, today officially naming former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough as the first participant in the eight-man field.

“We’re excited to add a championship quality fighter like Rob McCullough to this tournament,” Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a press release. “Rob’s fights are always entertaining, and I expect nothing less this season.”

Bellator’s upcoming fourth season is set to air live on MTV2 and will kick off March 5 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. As with all of Bellator’s tournaments, the 155-pounders will be vying for $100,000 and the right to face the current divisional champion -- in this case, world-ranked lightweight Eddie Alvarez.

Expected to join McCullough in the draw are recent Bellator signees Marcin Held, Lloyd Woodard and Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, as well as Carey Vanier, who earned his spot by winning a qualifier in Season three. Last October, Rebney told Sherdog.com that two-time tournament finalist Toby Imada, Olympic judoka Ferrid Kheder, and collegiate wrestling convert Michael Chandler were all likely participants.

McCullough, a 33-year-old muay Thai specialist, has won back-to-back bouts under the Tachi Palace Fights banner since being released by WEC in late 2009. Last July, he scored a first-round knockout of TPF featherweight champ Isaac DeJesus in a 160-pound matchup. In September, he took a unanimous decision against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season five participant Corey Hill.

Since beginning his MMA campaign in 2001, McCullough has amassed a record of 19-6 and has been stopped only once. That knockout came at the hands of Jamie Varner, who took McCullough’s WEC title in 2008.

“I’ve been training for the last six months straight, twice a day, every day,” McCullough said. “I’ve been adding new elements to my game, tweaking things and working on old techniques. I've got nothing but positive people surrounding me and I'm ready to get back to the top.”

View the original article here