CHICAGO, Ill. (June 19, 2012) — Bellator’s Season Seven Lightweight Tournament just got its #1 seed, as Bellator Fighting Championships has signed undefeated lightweight Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy. Only 23, “Tiger” brings a spotless 20-0 record into Bellator, including 17 finishes. Training under Bellator Middleweight World Title Challenger Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko, Sarnavskiy is looking to continue the tradition of Russian excellence inside the Bellator cage.
“Alexander Shlemenko has put a high standard of Russian dominance in Bellator by winning two middleweight tournaments,” Sarnavskiy said. “Now my teammate Andrey Koreshkov fights for Bellator as well and he recently won two fights by spectacular KO’s. Vitaly Minakov also just signed with Bellator, and I expect him to become Bellator’s next Heavyweight Champion. I want to follow in the footsteps of those men, and make Bellator proud.”
Recently ranked as the world’s #1 prospect at 155 pounds Sarnavskiy has finished nine of his last 10 opponents, and has yet to face a battle he couldn’t handle. Armed with a polished ground game and training under one of the best technical strikers in the sport, Sarnavskiy is prepared for the rigors he’ll soon face by entering the next Bellator Lightweight Tournament.
“The Bellator Tournament will be a difficult test for me,” Sarnavskiy said. “I will train and prepare myself the best I can. I have a huge responsibility to my coach, my manager, my fans and my country. I won’t disappoint them and I want to show them a spectacular performance.”
“Russia’s produced some incredible athletes that have had tremendous success in our sport, and having watched Tiger fight for the last few years, I expect great things from him,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He is an incredibly explosive and dynamic Mixed Martial Artist who should be a force here at Bellator.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
