‘Sapo’ Santos Signs with Bellator; Askren Matchup Rumor False

Brazilian welterweight standout Luis “Sapo” Santos has signed a four-fight deal with Bellator Fighting Championships and will likely debut for the promotion in March.

Sherdog.com confirmed Santos’ signing on Tuesday with a source close to the negotiations. News of the deal was first reported on Monday by Tatame.com.

Though the promotion’s upcoming Season 4 welterweight tournament is already filled to capacity, the source asserted that “Sapo” will fight on undercards to be developed for the next 170-pound tournament.

While a rumor has circulated that Santos’ first fight for the organization will be a non-title bout with current Bellator champ Ben Askren, Sherdog.com’s source dubbed that report false.

Santos is a veteran of over 50 career bouts and has won nine of his last 10 contests. Beginning his career in 2000, “Sapo” fought for five years before being handed his first defeat. Santos is a one-time World Extreme Cagefighting veteran, having lost to Alex Serdyukov at WEC 34 in 2008.

The 31-year-old owns 25 of his career victories by knockout and another 10 by submission. Santos trains at Finney’s MMA in St. Louis, but has done his recent damage in his hometown of Belem, Brazil, where he notched four consecutive stoppage victories under the Amazon Fight banner in 2010.