· Polish Teen Prodigy Marcin Held Completes Bellator Lightweight Tournament
Press Release:
CHICAGO, Ill. (February 11, 2011) — The Bellator Season 4 Lightweight Tournament field of fighters is now complete with the promotion today confirming Polish prodigy Marcin Held as the eighth and final participant. The tournament will air LIVE on MTV2 starting in March. At just 19-years-old, Held will be fighting for a $100,000 paycheck and a title shot against Bellator World Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez.
Widely regarded as the prodigy of Polish MMA, Held began his MMA journey at just nine years old when he stumbled upon a Jiu-Jitsu gym near his home in Poland. Ten years later, Held enters the Bellator Tournament owning an impressive 10-1 record, including victories against opponents nearly twice his age. Currently a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Held is anxious to make his United States debut.
“I’m very eager to show fans here in America what I can do in this Lightweight Tournament,” said Held. “I have been waiting for this for so long. I just want to show my best.”
“Marcin is a young fighter with a lot of hype surrounding him, and I’m happy that we’ve been able to bring him to the States and let US fans see what he's capable of,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Marcin’s a true talent with great potential and will make a fantastic addition to our Lightweight Tournament.”
While Held is still nearly a year away from celebrating his twentieth birthday, the submission specialist is wise beyond his years, and is ready to elevate his game.
“I'm at the point in my career where I want to take that step up to the next level of the sport,” said Held. “To challenge myself against world class opposition is why I got into the sport, and now I'll be able to with Bellator.”
Held joins Nazareno Malegarie, Rob McCullough, Carey Vanier, Michael Chandler, Lloyd Woodard, Ferrid Kheder, Toby Imada, and Patricky Freire in the Season 4 Lightweight Tournament.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
About MTV2
MTV2 is a man's best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
