Bellator announced today that they have signed Brett Cooper and Ryan Thomas, completing their roster for the season two of their welterweight tourney:
Bellator Fighting Championships put the final pieces in place for its much-anticipated Season 2 welterweight tournament today with the signings of knockout artist Brett Cooper (12-5) and UFC veteran Ryan "The Tank Engine" Thomas(10-3).
"Cooper and Thomas are two great additions to our world-class welterweight tournament," said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Cooper's power presents big problems for anyone he fights and Thomas has the potential to upset anyone in our 170 division."
Ryan Thomas, 25, is a two fight UFC veteran who has been in there with the likes of Matt Brown, and Ben Saunders. Brett Cooper on the other hand, is an IFL and Affliction veteran, who trains at Team Bodyshop with Antonio McKee and newly signed UFC welterweight, Jason High. Our own Leland Roling talked about him in his list of the Top Welterweight Free Agents:
Brett Cooper (10-5) is another welterweight prospect that will easily make his way into a larger promotion. He had a stint within Affliction and in the IFL, and he has managed to pull off some impressive wins over Rory Markham, Conor Heun, Patrick Speight, and another rising star inSergio Moraes over the weekend. Cooper has changed himself from primarily a wrestler to a powerful wrestler/knockout puncher. His training at Antonio McKee's Bodyshop has likely added to his power, but he's become much more of an exciting fighter than what he was early in his career.
With their addition, Bellator completes it's stacked welterweight roster, which includes Ben Askren, Dan Hornbuckle, "Judo" Jim Wallhead, Jacob McClintock, Steve Carl and Sean Pierson.