Olympic Hopeful Shawn Bunch Signs with Bellator

On Monday, Bellator Fighting Championships announced the signing of former Olympic hopeful wrestler Shawn Bunch to an exclusive deal with the promotion.

Bunch comes to Bellator with no professional or even amateur fights to his record, but a decorated past when talking about the sport of wrestling.

Coming out of Edinoro University, the same college that produced UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck, Bunch has been signed to a deal that will see him debut for Bellator later this year, and eventually into a bantamweight tournament slot.

A highly decorated wrestler over the years, Bunch has already been training mixed martial arts and will join the famed American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose to fully make his transition into the fight game.

“While I’ve been training in MMA for over four years, I’ve never been able to fully focus on the sport with my wrestling obligations. After watching guys like Ben Askren and King Mo, guys I really look up to in this sport have success, I knew the time was right to make the move to Bellator,” said Bunch in a press release from Bellator.

“For MMA fans that aren’t familiar with me, get ready,” Bunch said. “I bring an incredibly fast and explosive game to the table, and I’m just ready to start this new chapter in my life. I can’t wait to get into the cage and get it going.”

Bunch will continue his training at AKA until he gets the call to make his official MMA and Bellator debut later this year.