Bellator Signs Brazilian Bantamweight 'Betao' Nogueira

Luiz Alberto Nogueira (left) is Bellator-bound at 135 pounds. | Gleidson Venga/Sherdog.com

Fresh off signing South American Shooto champion Eduardo "dudu" Dantas, Sherdog.com has confirmed that the upstart promotion has signed 135-pound prospect Luiz Alberto "Betao" Nogueira. Nogueira -- a member of Brazil's most prominent luta livre team, Renovacao Fight Team -- will make his promotional debut at Bellator 42 on April 23 at the Lucky Star Casino in Concho, Okla., against Jerod Spoon.

"We are very happy with this news, since 'Betao' is considered one of the best fighters in this weight of Brazil, and has been named by Sherdog as a Brazilian prospect to Watch in 2011," Renovacao leader Marcio "Cromado" Barbosa told Sherdog.com. "He is ready. We obtained his visa and we will travel to the U.S. at the start of next week."

Nogueira, 26, holds a 10-1 mark in MMA. His lone loss was a second-round submission in November 2008 to the aforementioned Eduardo Dantas, considered Nogueira's chief rival in Brazil's domestic bantamweight class.

The bout against Spoon will take place on the preliminary portion of the Bellator 42 card, which features the semifinals of the promotion's light heavyweight tournament, and a heavyweight non-title bout between Bellator champion Cole Konrad and veteran Paul Buentello. If Nogueira wins the bout, he will likely take part in Bellator's bantamweight tournament in its fifth season.

"We did all our work and hopefully we'll make a good fight. It is RFT's debut in America," celebrated "Cromado."