Undefeated Vila Enters Bellator Season 5 Bantamweight Draw

Olympic bronze medalist Alexis Vila will make his Bellator Fighting Championships debut in the promotion’s fifth season, as the American Top Team representative will compete in the promotion’s upcoming bantamweight tournament.

Bellator announced the news on Tuesday. Seven fighters are now confirmed for the tournament, as Vila joins Marcos Galvao, Joe Warren, Luis Alberto Nogueira, Eduardo Dantas, Chase Beebe and Ed West in the 135-pound draw. Three-time featherweight tournament entrant Wilson Reis is expected to round out the eight-man field.

Holding an undefeated professional record, Vila has finished all but one of his fallen foes since beginning his fighting career in 2007. A Cuban native, Vila’s bronze medal came in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

“I feel like I’m the best bantamweight in the world right now,” Vila stated in a release. “I have everything. I have all the training and all the tools. People don’t even know. Nobody has the stand-up that I have, the wrestling I have, or the strength that I have.”

Vila has knocked out his last five opponents, most recently earning a TKO of Lewis McKenzie in February. Prior to beginning his MMA career, the bantamweight won gold at the FILA world championships in 1993 and 1994, respectively.

“I’m not worried about any of the guys I’m going to fight in the future,” said Vila. “When they fight me, they’re going to find out that it’s a different story. I’m not the same guys they’ve fought before. When they feel how strong I am and how strong I punch, they’re going to change their minds really fast. So, I’m not worried about Joe Warren or Zach Makovsky, or any of these guys -- they have to worry about me.”