$100,000 Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinals Set

Newport Beach, CA. (February 5, 2013) – After nearly capturing his first Bellator MMA Welterweight Tournament crown, “The Beast” Bryan Baker will get another shot at glory when he replaces an injured Brent Weedman in the Season 8 Bellator MMA Welterweight Tournament on February 21^st from Utah’s Maverik Center live on Spike TV. Baker will face “The Phenom” Douglas Lima, while Ben “Killa B’ Saunders takes on fellow Florida native Raul Amaya for a spot in the Welterweight Tournament Finals.

Tickets for the event start as low as $40 and can be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com, Bellator.com and the Maverik Center Box Office. The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 8 p.m. MST on Spike, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. MST.

Only 27, Baker brings a wealth of experience to the cage, compiling an 18-4 record in his impressive career including victories over Ben Saunders, Jeremy Horn, Joe Riggs and Matt Horwich. Already a veteran of The Toughest Tournament in Sports, “The Beast” is fully aware of what’s at stake.

“When I got the call, I was ready to rock & roll,” Baker said. “I look at this opportunity as an absolute blessing. With our new child in the picture, this is an opportunity to make my family proud, show everyone what I’ve been working on, and let The Beast go at it like he always does. Douglas is a strong, powerful guy but I’m going to use my reach advantage and show my strength. This is my destiny.”

“You never like to see anyone suffer an injury, especially a quarterfinal winner, but when we learned of Brent’s injury, Bryan was the first guy we had in mind, and like a true professional he jumped at the opportunity,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney.

The night will also feature a $100,000 Featherweight Tournament Finals fight between Utah’s Own Rad Martinez battles the dynamic Russian striker Shahbulat Shamhalaev, while King Mo battles “The Hardcore Kid” Emanuel Newton for a spot in the Light Heavyweight Finals.