Bellator Signs Heavyweight Prospect Blagoi Ivanov

From Fighters.com

By Brian Lopez-Benchimol

Poised to be one of the next big things in the heavyweight division, Bellator Fighting Championship have acquired top prospect Blagoi Ivanov to join their fold.

Having fought exclusively overseas, mostly in his natice Bulgaria, Ivanov will be making his stateside debut sometime this year, and is currently under tutelage of famed boxing trainer Jeff Mayweather, uncle to former world champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

His career dates back to 2005, where at the age of 18 he made his first foray into the sport, and remains undefeated with a record of 9-0-1 (1 no contest). Ivanov will be a huge addition to the heavyweight fold in Bellator.

A sambo practitioner, he has twice medaled at the world games, taking home the bronze medal in 2006 before claiming gold in 2008, defeating the legendary Fedor Emelianeko en route to the top.

In his most notable win to date, Ivanov defeated Kazuyuki Fujita, a PRIDE veteran and longtime competitor of the sport. The two competed under the Sengoku banner where Blagoi, 24, defeated the Japanese wrestling powerhouse via split-decision.

"I can't wait to have the chance to show what I'm capable of to all of the Bellator fans watching on MTV2 all across the U.S...I'm already hard at work preparing for my first fight with Bellator", said Ivanov.

"My ultimate goal is to fight Cole Konrad for the Bellator world heavyweight championship. My mission is to become the Bellator champion, and that's what I intend to do."

Konrad claimed Bellator gold last year, when he bested a field of heavyweights en route to the finals where he met with UFC veteran Neil "The Goliath" Grove, submitting the knockout artist with a first-round keylock.

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