McCray (7-3) was defeated by Court McGee in 2010 in the finals of TUF 11 and dropped two more bouts inside the Octagon thereafter, forcing his release.

Since his stint in the UFC, McCray has won two fights on the regional circuit. He has been working out in New Jersey at Ricardo Almeida‘s gym with UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar.

News of the signing was first reported by MMAWeekly. Bellator has yet to announce a date/event for McCray’s initial appearance under the promotion’s banner.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Machine (a.k.a. Jon Koppenhaver) confirmed the news of his impending sentence on his Twitter account, writing, “Seems my year in jail wasn’t enough. Just got sentenced to another year in Vegas for some old bullsh*t. Nevermind I’m rehabilitated. Nevermind I’ve been out for over six months now and doing great and am finally back on my feet. Nevermind all my students that will miss me. Do another year and rot n waste time. Make no money, pay no taxes.”

The 12-4 30-year old was released from jail in July after serving a year for an assault charge.

After defeating Roger Huerta in his return fight this past November, Machine was signed by Bellator to compete in the upcoming sixth season welterweight tournament. He was slated to face Karl Amoussou in the opening round. Bellator has yet to comment on the situation.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/BELLATOR

According to War Machine (i.e. the artist formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver), he has been paired against French finisher Karl Amoussou for a bout on March 30. Presumably the three other quarterfinal fights will take place on the same night too. No location was mentioned.

“F*** ya it’s on,” Machine exclaimed in trademark fashion while revealing his opponent and the date. “Gonna send him back to France in pieces!”

Amoussou holds a 13-4-2 record with eleven finishes including a first frame knockout of Jesus Martinez at Bellator 59. Though a ferocious striker, seven of the 26-year old’s wins have come via submission despite not having avoided the judges’ scorecards since 2009.

Comparably, Machine is coming off a TKO of Roger Huerta in November after spending a solid block of time behind bars for an assault case. He is 12-4 in his career with the entire lot of wins involving some form of stoppage.

The other six participants in the Season 6 tourney include Carlos Pereira, Brian Foster, Bryan Baker, David Rickels, Raul Amaya, and Ben Saunders. The last man standing will earn a $100,000 payday as well as an opportunity to face the divisional champion, currently undefeated Olympic wrestler Ben Askren.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/BELLATOR

News of their addition to the festivities was confirmed by Bellator officials.

The 12-4 Koppenhaver scored an impressive TKO victory over Roger Huerta in 2011 that vaulted him name back among the MMA public. He went 1-1 in two UFC bouts before being released. War Machine also served a stint in prison due to an assault case before getting back inside the cage this past November.

Pereira holds a record of 33-9-1 in his MMA career and will be making his Bellator debut.

As always, the winner of the tournament will receive a championship match along with a $100,000 paycheck for the honor of being named the last fighter standing.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Roberto Vargas has been added to round out the eight-man tourney, bringing his 12-1 overall record to the table. Vargas will be joined by Jeremy Spoon, Genair da Silva, Marlon Sandro, Alexandre Bezerra, Ronnie Mann, Wagnney Fabiano, and Daniel Straus.

Combined the eight fighters have an overall record of 119-20-1, winning 17 of 22 fights inside the Bellator cage.

Vargas has won six straight bouts since a decision loss to Wilson Reis. He also defeated Daniel Pineda while competing under Bellator’s banner.

The winner of the Bellator tournament will receive the customary championship match and $100,000. Action begins on MTV2/EPIX on March 2, 2012.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

Spoon (12-0) has won a pair of fights inside Bellator, stopping Adam Schindler for his most recent victory. Spoon is joined by Genair da Silva, Marlon Sandro, Alexandre Bezerra, Ronnie Mann, Wagnney Fabiano, and Daniel Straus.

The featherweight tournament, which will give the winner $100,000 and a shot at the championship belt, begins in March on MTV2.

MMA Junkie was the first to report Spoon’s addition to the eight-person field.

Spoon was a high school state wrestling champion who turned pro in 2008. He holds eight submission victories and a knockout in his career, including his first five fights in less than two minutes.

Season 6 kicks off on March 2 with a live event on MTV2/EPIX.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

Sandro holds a career record of 20-3, including a championship in SRC. Over his last eight fights, he is 6-2, with the lone losses coming to Curran and Hatsu Hioki.

MMA Junkie was first to report Sandro’s addition to the tournament.

So far five total competitors have entered, with the Nova Uniao representative being joined by Alexandre Bezerra, Ronnie Mann, Wagnney Fabiano, and Daniel Straus. Sandro is currently 3-1 in Bellator, while the other four fighters have a combined 10-2 mark in the promotion. Only Fabiano is a Bellator newcomer.

The winner of Bellator featherweight tournament will secure a title shot against the champion and $100,000.

Bezerra has been very impressive in his Bellator run thus far, winning his first four fights and finishing all four opponents within two rounds. “Popo” has only lost once in thirteen professional fights back in 2009 when he was submitted by Charles Oliveira. The jiu-jitsu specialist has finished eleven of his twelve opponents and hasn’t seen the scorecards since his second pro bout in 2008.

Even though Straus lost in the season four finals to Patricio Freire in May, he managed to pick up a victory in October against UFC veteran Jason Dent. Straus defeated Nazareno Malegarie and Kenny Foster on his way to the 145 finals. An amateur wrestling champion in high school, Straus is known for using his size and wrestling to ground opponents. Of his 17 professional victories, ten have come by way of decision.

The eight-man tourney is set to kick off in March 2012 on MTV 2.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney announced the signing on Twitter.

A former IFL featherweight champ, Fabiano was thought to be the second best 145-pound fighter in the world (behind Urijah Faber) when he entered the WEC in 2008. After winning his first two bouts in the WEC cage, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt was upset at WEC 43 when Mackens Semerzier submitted him with a triangle choke in the first round. Following the loss, Fabiano dropped to 135, where he won two more bouts before losing via guillotine choke to former WEC bantamweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez.

He was released from the organization and hasn’t competed in MMA following that November 2010 loss to Benavidez but in March 2012 he’ll step back into the cage and move back up to 145 when he enters the Bellator featherweight tournament.

PHOTO CREDIT – WEC

The tournament will begin in March on MTV2, with a championship match against either current champ Zach Makovsky or No. 1 contender and season five winner Eduardo Dantas on the line. Also, the victor receives $100,000.

Marx (18-3) will be making his Bellator debut after previously fighting in the Jackson’s MMA Series and Jeremy Horn’s Elite Fight Night organizations. The 33-year-old is a former member of the Utah Highway Patrol and was a standout prep wrestler in Utah and competed for Ricks College in junior college.

Along with Marx, Galvao and Nogueira, Masakatsu Ueda, Alexis Vila, Rodrigo Lima and Ed West will all compete in the tournament-style format throughout 2012.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

Bellator

Among those set to compete for a shot at current Bellator bantamweight champion Zack Makovsky are Marcos Galvao, Luis “Betao” Nogueira, Rodrigo “Ratinho” Lima, Ed West, and Masakatsu Ueda.

Galvao, Nogueira and West have Bellator experience, while Lima and Ueda will be making their promotional debuts.

News of the participants was first reported by MMAJunkie.

The sixth season of Bellator begins in March with cards streaming on Spike.com and airing live on MTV2. Along with the bantamweight tourney, Bellator will be holding events in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions.

Galvao was part of the fifth season’s bantamweight tournament, barely losing a decision in the semifinals to Alexis Vila. Nogueira was also part of that tourney, along with West, who was a runner-up in season three and a semifinalist in Season Five.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

According to an official press release from Bellator FC, the Ultimate Fighter alumnus turned adult film star turned felon has inked a deal with the organization with the expectation he’ll compete in the Season 6 welterweight tournament. This is the second time Bellator has signed War Machine with the first run ending before it even started when the 30-year old was released due to a number of ignorant statements he made publicly regarding United States President Barack Obama.

However, according to War Machine he’s learned from his mistakes, saying, “My past has kind of shaped and molded who I’ve become, but the mistakes I’ve made in the past have definitely made me realize that I have to avoid certain situations in order to be the type of person I want to be.”

“It’s like I hit the rewind button,” he continued. “I pressed rewind and now I have a chance to get my life back on track. It feels great. Not everyone gets this kind of opportunity. I’m just stoked to be back in the mix here with Bellator. I didn’t get released from Bellator because I sucked. I got released because I was making poor decisions in my life. Right now I’m just out to show the world that I do belong here fighting the best with Bellator.”

The 12-4 Californian won his first fight back since being released after a yearlong sentence for assault charges, stopping Roger Huerta with strikes in the third round of their bout over Thanksgiving weekend. Now that he’s back on track War Machine is ready to prove his worth to the doubters.

“I feel like I belong fighting with the best fighters in the world and Bellator has a bunch of them,” War Machine concluded. “I’m ready to fight the best guys again, and now I have that chance. I’m excited for the chance to prove myself and make up for a lot of the stupid stuff I’ve said and done in the past. I love my family and my teammates and I want to make them all proud of me. I want to show them what I’m truly capable of. I know there are a lot of kids and people I care about there watching me so I need to be a lot more careful about some of the choices I make. I just want to make everyone proud of me.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/BELLATOR

“Our focus was to find the right night, where the largest number of MMA fans could enjoy the show,” said CEO Bjorn Rebney in a press release on the move. “We’ve been discussing this move with our partners at Viacom for months. When we looked at the alternatives, we agreed that Fridays provided a great night for us to reach MMA fans with our live, real sport, tournament events every week.”

Bellator’s upcoming Season 6 will begin March 2. Tournaments in five different weight classes will unfold in the cage over the first half of the year along with six title-fights. Thus far the divisions involved in the tournaments include 145, 155, 170, and 185 pounds with championship defenses forthcoming from Zach Makovsky, Joe Warren, Ben Askren, Hector Lombard, and Cole Konrad.

In 2013, Bellator will shift its viewing to Spike TV, replacing the UFC in the television lineup. Spike TV and MTV2 are both owned by Viacom.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

UFC and Spike cut ties earlier this year when UFC signed a deal with the FOX network. UFC had the chance to purchase back their library from Spike, which would have allowed Bellator to move to their new station in 2012, but declined to do so. Season six of Bellator, which starts in early 2012, could move to a different night but will remain on MTV2 for the year.

Bellator’s highest viewership on MTV2 is under 350,000 homes. That number is expected to increase when they move to SpikeTV. UFC events regularly do over one million viewers on the network.

News of this purchase will ensure that Bellator will be around for the long haul, and while they may never reach the level of success as the UFC, they now have a solid foundation and won’t fall by the wayside anytime soon like many other MMA promotions have done over the years.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney will remain the head of the organization.

When Bellator makes the move to SpikeTV in 2013, they’ll not only air live events, but they’ll also put together highlight shows much like the current UFC Unleashed program that runs on Spike.

“Big Rig” is best known for his one bout in the UFC where he defeated the highly-touted Gerald Harris at UFC 123 by unanimous decision. He was scheduled to compete at UFC 134 in August but was released from the company on May 11 due to charges stemming from a 2002 assault case. The Brazilian native headed back to his home country following his UFC released and has gone 2-1 in that time. Of his 28 career victories, 23 have come by way of (T)KO. He’s only competed once outside of Brazil, that being his one bout inside the octagon.

No debut date or opponent have been announced.

The Bellator middleweight division is currently ruled by champion Hector Lombard, who has won 19 straight contests. Top contenders Alexander Shlemenko and Vitor Vianna are scheduled to meet at Bellator 58 with the winner get a shot at Lombard’s belt.

*PHOTO CREDIT – UFC*

“We are thrilled to join forces with Spike.com,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney of the newly formed partnership. “The Spike brand is synonymous with Mixed Martial Arts worldwide and is another member of the MTV family who does an incredible job in resonating with the hard-to-reach 18-to-34-year-old male audience.”

The live stream will run before every Bellator event during Season 5 from 7:00-9:00 PM EST as a lead in for when the main card picks up on MTV2 (or EPIX in HD).

The network, known for showing UFC events and playing home to the Ultimate Fighter, was first linked with Bellator shortly after Zuffa aligned themselves with FOX and started severing professional ties in the process. Spike TV executives were seen in attendance at last month’s Bellator 48 event and, again breaking from the norm, a review of the show was later posted on Spike.com. Both factors were seen as adding weight to the likelihood of the two sides coming together in the near future as they since have.

Among the undercard bouts at this weekend’s event, Brazilian finisher Alexandre Bezerra faces 8-2 Scott Heckman and Bellator veteran LeVon Maynard will mix it up with submission specialist Giedrius Karavackas. The evening’s televised action will focus on the opening round of the Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament.

According to an official press release, Bellator has partnered with the Viacom-owned EPIX network to simulcast events while they air live on their regular home at MTV2.

“This is the perfect time and the perfect channel to introduce Bellator in high-definition,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. “EPIX has fantastic programming, tremendous reach and I always find a great movie on their channel. I look forward to continuing our relationship with MTV2 and our new partnership with EPIX to bring the magic of HD to Bellator fans nationwide.”

For cable subscribers who get EPIX, the run of HD programming will start on September 10 with the Season 5 premiere featuring the opening round of the latest welterweight tournament including, Dan Hornbuckle, Brent Weedman, Chris Lozano, Ben Saunders, and others.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC65fpt6g4M&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

PHOTO/VIDEO CREDIT – BELLATOR

Pat Curran put fellow featherweights on notice at Bellator 48, knocking out top ranked 145 fighter and former Sengoku featherweight king Marlon Sandro in the second round with a devastating head kick. The bout was closely contested for the most part, but Sandro always seemed one step ahead of Curran with his speed and head movement. All that head movement got him in trouble in the end though, when he dropped his hands and ducked right into the high kick of Curran. The victory is Curran’s second Bellator tournament win and earns him a shot at the Bellator featherweight title in the near future.

In the co-main event, Cole Konrad remained unbeaten in MMA, picking up a unanimous decision victory over veteran Paul Buentello. The fight was not what fans expected, as Konrad stood with Buentello for most of the fight, but neither man seemed very willing to engage in leather throwing. “The Polar Bear” nearly finished “The Headhunter” in the third round with a rear-naked choke, but Buentello was able to survive to see the unfavorable scorecards. Fans were displeased throughout the fight, booing the majority of the contest.

Read below for complete results of the evening’s action:

PRELIMINARY CARD

Saul Almeida def. Tateki Matsuda via Unanimous Decision
Ryan Quinn def. Brett Oteri via Submission Round 1 (Rear Naked Choke)
Andrew Calandrelli def. Matt Nice via Submission Round 1 (Keylock)
Nik Fekete def. Mark Griffin via TKO Round 2 (Strikes)
Jeff Nader def. Dan Cramer via TKO Round 3 (Strikes)

MAIN CARD

Juan Barrantes vs. Renê Nazare

Round One: Nazare came out very aggressive and landed some big flurries on Barrantes. Nazare rocked Barrantes a couple of times with right hands but Barrantes was able to hang in there. Nazare really lit up Barantes with a lead uppercut-straight right combo. Barrantes ended up getting his nose busted from the punches of Nazare. Nazare got a takedown and roughed up Barrantes with punches and elbows. Barrantes did a nice job moving in order to remain in the fight but he took a beating for over two minutes on the ground. Nazare went for a guillotine choke at the end of the round but Barrantes was able to escape as the bell rang. A dominant round for Nazara. 5OZ scores the round 10-8 for Nazare.

Round Two: Barrantes tried to turn up the aggression to start the round but Nazae fired right back and had more power in his strikes, along with being more technical. Nazare scored a takedown just over a minute into the round and spent over two minutes pounding on Barrantes from the guard. He didn’t do as much damage as he did in the first round but he still roughed up Barrantes with punches and elbows. Barrantes landed a beautiful sweep but Nazare got up, landed some short punches, and scored another takedown. The round ended with Nazare on top, landing some short strikes. Not quite as dominate as round one, but still all Nazara. 5OZ scores the round 10-9 for Nazare.

The doctor stopped the fight after the second round as Barrantes’ right was swollen shut. Barrantes is disappointed with the stoppage but it’s a good call.

Result: Renê Nazare def. Juan Barrantes via TKO Round 2 (Doctor Stoppage)

Ricco Rodriguez vs. Seth Petruzelli

Round One: After some wild striking that went nowhere, Petruzelli caught Rodriguez with a spinning back kick that grazed the cup of Ricco. Rodriguez took a short break and fought on though. Petruzelli got a takedown but Rodriguez was up without taking much damage. Petruzelli landed some good right hands and leg kicks before Rodriguez pushed him against the cage. Petruzelli broke off though and continued to pick apart Rodriguez with strikes. Petruzelli landed a couple of spinning back kicks that got the attention of Rodriguez. As Rodriguez lept in, Petruzelli caught him with a big right hand that put him down and Petruzelli followed up with a series of hammerfists that put Rodriguez out cold.

Result: Seth Petruzelli def. Ricco Rodriguez via KO Round 1 (Strikes)

Cole Konrad vs. Paul Buentello

Round One: Konrad flashed a nice jab early but otherwise nothing happened on the feet for the first three minutes or so. Buentello really never committed to his strikes and Konrad was rather passive on the feet as well outside of his jab and inside leg kicks. Konrad grew frustrated as Buentello kept moving away and not engaging. The round was all on the feet and maybe five punches total were landed. Konrad wins the round though just because he threw more and controlled the center. 5OZ scores the round 10-9 for Konrad.

Round Two: Buentello was a bit more aggressive in the second round but still never really found the chin of Konrad early one. Konrad continued to use his jab and inside leg kick. Konrad finally went to clinch but Buentello was able to avoid it. Once again, not much happened in terms of significance but Konrad seemed to be more in control. Tough round to score though due to the lack of action. Slight edge to Konrad thanks to his aggression and ring control. 5OZ scores the round 10-9 for Konrad.

Round Three: Buentello landed a good combo but then either slipped or got caught and when down. Konrad immediately pounced on him, got his back, and went for a rear naked choke but couldn’t sink it in. Buentello managed to roll into half guard but Konrad was still on top of him. Konrad landed short shots from the half guard but not doing much damage or staying busy enough for the ref, who stood them up with a minute left. Buentello tried to push the action but Konrad clinched and rode out the round. Easiest round to score as Konrad was on top for most of the round. 5OZ scores the round 10-9 for Konrad and the fight 30-27 for Konrad.

Result: Cole Konrad def. Paul Buentello via Unanimous Decision

Pat Curran vs. Marlon Sandro

Round One: Curran throwing push kicks early while Sandro having success with leg kicks. Both men looking for the overhand right but neither connecting. Sandro really using the right uppercut-left hook combo effectively early. Curran staying patient but can’t find the chin of Sandro when he does throw. Sandro is the more aggressive of the two but he’s not landing too much clean outside of the leg kicks. Sandro went for a late round takedown but Curran sprawled to stuff it as the bell rang. Close round but Sandro seemed to be more effective with his striking. 5OZ scores the round 10-9 for Sandro.

Round Two: Curran doing a better job early in the second, landing some good kicks to the body and legs along with the counter right. Sandro winging his punches a bit but he’s finding the chin of Curran more often this round, especially with the jab-overhand right. Curran cut near his eye. Curran clinched and looked for a takedown but Sandro stayed upright. Sandro might not be landing but he’s getting Curran to cover and back up with his aggression. Curran having success with the body kick but not using it too often. Curran landed a HUGE head kick as Sandro was moving his head and Sandro went out cold. Curran landed a couple more strikes on the ground as the ref jumped in to push him away. Outstanding finish.

Result: Pat Curran def. Marlon Sandro via KO Round 2 (Head Kick/Punches)

*PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR*

Below are the complete weigh-in results:

Saul Almeida (146) vs. Tateki Matsuda (145.25)
Brett Oteri (170) vs. Ryan Quinn (170)
Andrew Calandrelli (155.5) vs. Matt Nice (155.5)
Nik Fekete (205) vs. Mark Griffin (205)
Dan Cramer (205) vs. Jeff Nader (204)
Juan Barrantes (155.25) vs. Renê Nazare (156)
Ricco Rodriguez (229.75) vs. Seth Petruzelli (224)
Cole Konrad (264.5) vs. Paul Buentello (255.25)
Pat Curran (145) vs. Marlon Sandro (145)

*PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR*

News of Rickels’ signing was announced through an official press release where CEO Bjorn Rebney explained, “David made a strong impression on us during our fourth season, and we’re happy to have him joining Bellator full time.”

Rickels pulled off back-to-back submissions earlier this year after turning pro in 2010 and racking up a series of stoppages with only a single decision in the bunch. More than half of his total wins have come as the result of a Triangle Choke, a stat likely causing a bit of concern amongst some of his peers given their wrestling backgrounds.

No word has surfaced on whether or not Rickels will serve as an alternate in Bellator’s upcoming welterweight tournament but the organization did make it clear he will definitely be in action sooner than later.

PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR