Bellator Fighting Championships put the finishing touches on its much-anticipated Season 2 featherweight tournament with the signing of 17-2 submission specialist Eric Marriott.

Marriott is the eighth and final confirmed participant in the tournament, which also features the likes of Georgi Karakhanyan, Sean Pierson, Patricio Pitbull, Bao Quach, Wilson Reis, William Romero and Joe Warren. All told, the group boasts a combined professional record of 83-18-2.

Marriott, who turns 24 on Saturday, is in the midst of a nine-fight winning streak since last April with victories coming by armbar, heel hook and rear-naked choke submissions as well as a first-round KO via head kick. Notable career wins have come against Strikeforce’s Pat Benson and WEC veteran Chris Mickle.

With its first Season 2 event now less than eight weeks away, Bellator Fighting Championships today revealed the Round 1 matchups for its much-anticipated, nationally-televised featherweight tournament.

The four fights will take place during Bellator’s first two Season 2 events on April 8^th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and on April 15^th at the historic Chicago Theatre. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 155, 170 and 185 lbs. during Season 2 with the winners in each division being declared No. 1 contenders to the current roster of Bellator champions. Fighter pairings for those tournaments will be announced within the coming weeks.

The featherweight (145 lbs.) matchups are as follows:

April 8^th

Joe Warren (2-1) vs. Eric Marriott (17-2)

and

Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1) vs. Bao Quach (17-9-1)

April 15^th

Wilson Reis (9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (5-2)

and

Patricio Pitbull (12-0) vs. William Romero (5-0)

Each of the fights will be broadcast live in prime time on FOX Sports Net. Highlights will be shown the following Saturday night in special action-packed shows on NBC and Telemundo.

“As an MMA fan, I can’t wait to see these fights,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Having watched all of these guys in the cage, I can’t tell you who the favorite will be. There’s been great buzz about our 145 division and it’s definitely warranted. This tournament is a mine field for each of these fighters.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Bellator.