While Bellator takes time off between fight seasons, they are keeping busy by adding fighters to their roster. Strikeforce and UFC veteran Paul Daley and Shawn Bunch, a wrestler with international experience, have both signed with the tournament-based promotion.
Daley's getting a fresh start in Bellator after stops in the UFC, Strikeforce and BAMMA. Though he was impressive in two wins in the UFC, his run there is most remembered for a cheap shot at Josh Koscheck after their fight was over and immediately losing his job afterwards. In Strikeforce, he had wins over Scott Smith and Trevor Prangley but lost to Nick Diaz, Tyron Woodley and Kazuo Misaki.
He will make his Bellator debut on July 20 and will fight in the welterweight tournament.
The Bunch signing is a risk for Bellator because he has never been in an MMA match. The two-time NCAA Division I All-American for Edinboro has been on the U.S. national team for five years and narrowly missed making the U.S. Olympic team earlier in June. He will train at American Kickboxing Academy, a camp that has proven successful at transitioning elite wrestlers to MMA.
MMA Fighting reports he has a multi-fight deal and will debut in Bellator's bantamweight tournament this fall.
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