Bellator MMA officials revealed additional details for its Welterweight Grand Prix tournament on Tuesday, during a joint news conference with DAZN streaming service in New York.
Bellator president Scott Coker revealed nine of the 10 welterweights slated to compete in the 170-pound tournament. The format will consist of two preliminary qualifying matchups before moving into quarterfinals.
Coker told ESPN the promotion plans to make every tournament matchup five rounds, rather than the traditional non-title length of three rounds. Coker also said MacDonald, the current welterweight champion, will be on the line from the very first matchup, so the eventual winner of the tournament will be Bellator's 170-pound champion.
The nine welterweights include current champion Rory MacDonald along with Michael Page, Douglas Lima, Lorenz Larkin, Andrey Koreshkov, Neiman Gracie, Jon Fitch, Ed Ruth and Yaroslav Amosov. The tournament will get underway with a matchup between Lima and Koreshkov on Sept. 29 in San Jose, California.
"This is truly the best welterweight division on the planet," Coker said. "We have the best fighters on the planet -- better than any other league."
One significant name missing from the field is Paul Daley (40-16-2), who has fought exclusively for Bellator since 2015. According to sources, Daley is currently in contract negotiations with Bellator and could still be added to the tournament, pending a new deal.
MacDonald (20-4) is an interesting spot, as he's actually scheduled to challenge middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi at the Sept. 29 event. Win or lose, he will then enter the tournament. Coker referenced that MacDonald's tournament debut might occur in February.
Bellator and DAZN announced a new partnership last month, which kicks off on Sept. 29. The deal consists of 22 Bellator events on DAZN annually, seven of which are exclusive to the streaming platform.