Ben Saunders dodges barriers to reach Bellator tourney

Ben Saunders fulfilled his childhood goal when he competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 2007 to 2010. The dream began when in 1993 when Saunders, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., saw advertisements for the first UFC card and convinced his father to order the pay-per-view event.

Within a few years, Saunders began to train in Jeet Kune Do, and he moved to Orlando to train after his high school graduation.

"I graduated and met [MMA veteran] Din Thomas online," said Saunders, who turns 29 in April. "He said, 'Come out to Orlando.' I convinced my parents I was going to go to Orlando to go to college. That was not the case. That's what I was going to do as a decoy. I was fighting full time. I tried to convince them, 'Hey, this is my college. Every time I go out here, I learn something.' It was what I wanted to do for a living."

Saunders made his professional debut in 2004 and improved to 4-0-2 before he was invited to compete in The Ultimate Fighter. Although he did not win the show, Saunders impressed the UFC enough to earn a contract. After a 4-3 mark, including a pair of losses to Jon Fitch and Dennis Hallman in 2010, Saunders was released.

"When it immediately happened, I kind of looked at it and I was bummed," Saunders said. "But, you know what? It doesn't matter. I left on good terms. They were like, 'Your weight class, the welterweight division, is just (stacked). All the top guys are in there. It's wrestle-bound. Everyone's just really high-level wrestlers. Go work on your wrestling. Go win and come back."'

Saunders signed with Bellator Fighting Championships last year and instantly made an impact. He defeated Matt Lee in his debut and earned a place in the Season Five welterweight tournament, where he defeated Chris Cisneros and Luis Santos to reach the final.

Although he lost to Douglas Lima in the finale, Saunders was invited back to compete in Season Six's tournament, where he opens against Raul Amaya on Friday night during Bellator 63. The event, held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., will air live on MTV2 and EPIX at 8 p.m. EDT and on tape delay at 8 p.m. PDT.

"I don't know much about (Amaya)," said Saunders, 12-4-2. "He's a wildcard to me. He can throw an overhand right. He can throw an overhand left. He can try to lay and pray and try to win the decision. There are so many things he can attempt to do, but I feel as long as I'm healthy, in shape and prepared with my distance, my timing and my technique, I don't think there's a man alive that can beat me when I'm on point.

"... As long as I don't go out there and do anything stupid, I feel like I can win by any means necessary, no matter where the fight takes place."

The remaining welterweight fights include Karl Amoussou vs. Chris Lozano, Jordan Smith vs. David Rickels and Bryan Baker vs. Carlos Pereira.

Preliminary bouts, which can be seen live on Spike.com at 8 p.m. EDT and continue at 10 p.m. EDT, include: women's 125-pounders Marianna Kheyfets vs. Munah Holland; middleweights Dan Cramer vs. Jeff Nader; welterweights Andrey Koreshkov vs. Tiawan Howard; featherweights Saul Almeida vs. Matt Bessette; heavyweights Parker Porter vs. Randy Smith; 165-pound catchweights Ryan Quinn vs. Marc Stevens; and featherweights Pete Rogers vs. Brandon Fleming.