[Cat--Smasher]

Bellator signs Fabricio Guerreiro, expects Brazilian to be in next 145-pound tournament

Bellator Fighting Championships has added to the ranks of one of its most competitive divisions.

Fabricio Guerreiro (16-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) has signed with the promotion and is expected to make his debut with Bellator in 2013. Sources close to the promotion told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) of the signing.

Though a debut fight is not set, sources said Guerreiro likely would be tapped as one of the eight competitors in Bellator's Season 8 featherweight tournament.

After fighting eight times in 2011, Guerreiro has fought just once in 2012, picking up a first-round triangle-choke over Roberto Bruno da Silva in the main event of a regional show in his native Brazil.

In 2011, the 22-year-old suffered the only loss of his pro MMA career, a controversial TKO against Rafael Addario Bastos that many deemed an early stoppage just 48 seconds in. The two rematched a month later, and Guerreiro won with a third-round submission.

All told, 12 of Guerreiro's 16 career wins have come by submission, with two others by TKO. And half of his wins have come in the first round.

Bellator signs Fabricio Guerreiro, expects Brazilian to be in next 145-pound tournament | MMAjunkie.com