Bellator Brings Back Women’s Featherweight Division, Signs Marloes Coenen & Julia Budd
Bellator MMA has been in the news a lot recently with the addition of new president Scott Coker, who replaced former ringleader Bjorn Rebney and seems to be bringing a new look to Bellator by giving the company a new beginning.
There were rumors swirling earlier this week that Bellator had signed one of the pioneers of women’s MMA in Gina Carano. However, they ended up simply just rumors. Carano has been in talks with the UFC regarding her return to professional fighting for months now, and although she has not signed with either company, it may not be concrete that she is heading to the Octagon like we once thought.
Today (August 14th, 2014), bellator-resurrects-womens-division-books-marloes-coenen-vs-julia-budd-mma”>MMAMania.com reported that Bellator MMA was bringing back a women’s featherweight division. Not coincidently, this is the weight class Carano always competed it, and one the UFC does not have. Bellator could become more of a competitor than the UFC realizes.
All of this news regarding Carano is simply speculation at this point. However, that has not stopped the Bellator brass from getting started with this new division. In today’s press release, Coker stated:
“We’re incredibly excited to bring in two of the best athletes competing in our sport today. We are making a commitment to bring back the female division to Bellator, and feature some of the world’s best in the Bellator cage.”
The announcement of the new division was not the only news that came from Bellator today. They have not only created a new division, but have also signed two fighters to compete in it. The first fighter will be former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen. Julia Budd, a former Invicta FC competitor, has also signed with Bellator. These two will face off later this year in what should be a big fight that kicks off a new and exciting direction for the promotion.
By creating this division, Bellator, for the first time, may have a gained a slight edge over the world’s top MMA promotion. Some of the biggest names in Women’s MMA, such as Carano and “Cyborg” compete in the featherweight division. They now have the option to go to Bellator where they could stay in their current weight class.
Will this breaking news help Bellator MMA become a true competitor to the UFC, or will they always be a distant second? Stay tuned to LowKickMMA.com for more news regarding Bellator’s new division.
