Bellator signs undefeated heavyweight prospect Blagoi Ivanov

The man best-known for defeating Fedor Emelianenko in a combat sambo match is coming to Bellator Fighting Championships.

Bellator officials today announced that Blagoi Ivanov (8-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) has signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion and will soon fight for the first time in the U.S.

"Blagoi is a great signing for us at heavyweight," Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney stated in today's official release. "He brings an incredible sambo background to the cage and is developing his hands with some of the best in the business. I'm very happy that he and his management have decided to move his career forward under the Bellator banner."

The 24-year-old Bulgarian is currently training with Shawn Tompkins at Las Vegas' TapouT gym. Competing professionally since 2005, Ivanov's highest profile MMA bout to date is an August 2009 split-decision win over Kazuyuki Fujita under the Sengoku banner.

However, Ivanov made waves in 2008 with a victory over Emelianenko in the semifinals of the 2008 World Sambo Championships.

"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," Ivanov stated. "I'm already hard at work preparing for my first fight with Bellator.

"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."

An exact date for Ivanov's Bellator debut has yet to be determined.