· Richard “Rare Breed” Hale Confirmed For Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament

Press Release:

CHICAGO, Ill. (February 23, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships continues to add to its Light Heavyweight Tournament, this time adding powerful Ohio native Richard “Rare Breed” Hale to the competition that airs LIVE Saturdays on MTV2. Hale now has the opportunity at picking up a $100,000 paycheck while becoming the first Bellator World Light Heavyweight Champion.

“Richard is another guy we have had our eye on for a while, and his size and experience should enable him to make some noise this season,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Now fighting out of Tempe, Arizona, Hale (15-3-1) began his MMA journey in 2006 just days after being invited to a local MMA event a friend of his was competing in. Now almost five years later, the training has paid off, as the 25-year-old Hale has held Rage in the Cage Championships in three different weight classes, including Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight, and Super Heavyweight.

After giving more than 40 pounds away to opponents in the past, Hale is thrilled to enter the tournament fighting at 205, stating, “I absolutely feel like I'm more powerful and explosive at 205 pounds,” said the 6'4” Hale. “My strength and my stamina is better, and just everything all around. With the weight cut and everything, it pushes me to be a better athlete.”

With 13 finishes in 15 victories, Hale is anxious to put his crowd pleasing style on display LIVE on MTV2 during Bellator Season 4.

“I'm looking at this tournament as an opportunity to display my skills to the world,” said Hale. “I feel like this is my opportunity to make a statement and I'm absolutely going to take advantage of it. I'm not coming to Bellator just to put on a fight; I'm coming to put on an entertaining fight. This is an entertainment sport, so my opponents have to be ready for anything.”

Hale is the fifth confirmed participant in the Light Heavyweight tournament, joining Nik “The Machete” Fekete, Chris Davis, D.J. Linderman, and Tim Carpenter.

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.