‘Judo Jim’ Becomes Latest Bellator Acquisition

Team Rough House standout Jim Wallhead has agreed to terms on a multi-fight contract with Bellator Fighting Championships. The fledgling promotion announced its latest acquisition on Monday.

A well-rounded finisher and one of the top welterweights in Europe, the 25-year-old Englishman has been invited to compete in the Bellator welterweight tournament in April. He joins a list of notable recent signees, including 2008 Olympian Ben Askren, Sengoku veteran Dan Hornbuckle and Arizona Combat Sports standout Jacob McClintock.

“Adding Jim to our welterweight division is magic for Bellator,” BFC founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a release. “Jim is the real deal. As a fan, I can’t wait to see Wallhead, Askren, McClintock and Hornbuckle face off.”

A Judo national champion and longtime black belt, Wallhead last competed in November, when he outpointed Che Mills under the Knuckle Up MMA banner. A teammate of UFC standouts Dan Hardy and Paul Daley, the judoka has delivered 13 of his 18 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Bellator inked a multi-tiered television deal with Fox Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo in October, giving the promotion instant credibility and staying power.

“I’ve been looking for a home in a big promotion for quite a while, so I’m just over the moon about signing with Bellator,” said Wallhead, who has won his last six fights. “I watched the Bellator shows last year, and it’s really just a great, high-standards promotion. I’m relishing the challenge to let it all hang out, to take some risks and, hopefully, to have some success against the top competition in the world.”