Brian Foster

Former UFC 170-pounder will make run for Bellator gold

UFC veteran Brian Foster has joined Bellator Fighting Championships' Season Six welterweight tournament.

Bellator officials on Thursday confirmed the news with HeavyMMA.com. Foster's inclusion in the tournament was first reported by Sherdog.

At 27, Foster has already experienced plenty of setbacks as a mixed martial artists. Throughout his five-fight UFC career, which included wins over Matt Brown and Brock Larson, he struggled with injuries and other medical issues – the most notable being a brain hemorrhage several weeks before a fight against Sean Pierson at UFC 129.

But since leaving the UFC, Foster has had nothing but success, earning first-round submission victories in his past two fights to improve his winning streak to four.

Foster now looks to continue building on his recent success as he enters the eight-man tournament field, which begins in March. The winner of the tournament takes home a total of $100,000 for his efforts and, perhaps the more important prize, earns a title shot against Ben Askren.