Bellator is jumping into the Heavyweight pool

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney talked to MMA Fighting Stances and confirmed that the promotion is going ahead with a heavyweight and women's tournament later this year.

Bjorn Rebney: Season 3 won't have the welters in it. Season 3 kicks off on Aug. 12 and it'll have heavies and women and bantams.

What I'd like to do is, I'd like to just get him over for a series of fights as we wait for season number four, when there will be another welterweight tournament. It may get him busy, and get him busy now, hopefully he keeps winning and then get him into the welterweight tournament in Season 4.

Sergio Non: I didn't realize you had officially decided on a heavyweight tournament. How much talent do you have lined up for that? That's usually the toughest division for finding talent.

Bjorn Rebney: It is. We've been working like dogs for the last number of months.

We've got about six guys signed now, from a heavyweight perspective, for the eight spots. There are some pretty exciting fighters that are not huge names on the radar screen, but I think when people see them fight, they're going to be pretty impressed.

Six heavyweights signed to fight already?! And here WKR was thinking that when Bellator picked up Cole Konrad that they would be hard pressed to fill up the heavyweight bracket similar to how the 185 pound bracket wasn't complete when Season 2 began. 

The announcement of bantamweight participants is right on schedule has Bellator has already announced Ulysses Gomez, Danny Tims and Hawaii's Mark Oshiro (something you'd expect with the deeper talent at the lighter weight classes). 

There is also some encouraging news regarding the women's tournament. Bellator has already locked up Megumi Fujii (19-0) to fight in June and she is expected to be apart of the women's tourney in Season 3, which may or may not be set at 115lbs. 

On the flip side, Strikeforce appears to be dropping the ball on their female divisions as their 135lbs. champion, Sarah Kaufman, isn't even signed to a contract right now and their purported tournaments are still in the "rumor" "planning" "we have no freaking clue what we're doing" stage. If all goes well for Bellator in season three WKR wouldn't be shocked to see the women of Strikeforce take a pass. Well, that is if Gina Carano stays on the Dwayne Johnson path...

SBN coverage of Bellator XVIII