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  • Photo: Photo/Mark Lundy

    Mark Palmer •

    Photo: Photo/Mark Lundy

    Three-time NCAA champ Cotton signs with Bellator

    Romero Cotton, three-time NCAA Division II wrestling champ at University of Nebraska-Kearney, has signed with Bellator, the mixed martial arts organization announced Monday.

    Cotton, who was granted an eleventh semester of eligibility by the NCAA one year ago, is currently working on completing his psychology degree at Nebraska-Kearney, but hopes to make his professional MMA debut in 2017, competing as a middleweight (185 pounds), according to Bellator.

    Romero Cotton (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)
    A native of Hutchinson, Kan., Cotton was a four-time NCAA Division II championship finalist for the UNK Lopers, winning three consecutive titles at 197 pounds in 2014, 2015 and 2016, making him the first three-time champ in the 111-year history of the school. Cotton compiled an overall record of 66-10 record at Kearney, earning NCAA All-American status four times. He also played football for the school where the team co-captain rushed for 309 yards this year, and 1,866 yards over the past three seasons.

    "Having an opportunity to be part of a promotion like Bellator so early in my MMA career is one that I am thankful for,' Cotton said. "Being that I'm just starting out in the sport I thought it would be two or three years of grinding and working my way up the ladder before reaching a company of this magnitude."

    The 26-year-old Cotton joins a growing roster of athletes with impressive amateur wrestling credentials who have signed with Bellator in the past year or so, including Aaron Pico, Joey Davis, Jarod Trice, Tyrell Fortune and Ed Ruth. Just this past weekend, Fortune and Ruth both made successful debuts at Bellator 163 in Connecticut, each winning his first pro MMA bout by TKO within the first round.

    Cotton is eager to make a similar positive first impression in MMA, and build a successful career with Bellator.

    "Having seen how Bellator's recent string of wrestlers have been treated and performed, I'm honored to be the latest and there's nothing I'm looking forward to more than showing the world my skills that I've acquired throughout my life not only as a wrestler, but as an athlete," said Cotton. "Now, I move onto the next phase of my career and will continue to develop into a well-rounded fighter."
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