Ex-UFC fighters Eric Shelton and Danilo Belluardo join ARES FC roster

Ex-UFC fighters Eric Shelton and Danilo Belluardo are the latest additions to the ARES FC roster.

Upstart promotion ARES FC continues to add solid names to its roster.

Ex-UFC fighters [autotag]Eric Shelton[/autotag] and [autotag]Danilo Belluardo[/autotag] are the latest additions to the promotion, joining a list of notable fighters who were signed earlier in the year.

Shelton (13-7), a semifinalist on Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” was never able to build momentum in the UFC after joining the full roster. He went 2-4 with the promotion before he was released.

Since departing from the UFC in May 2019, Shelton has gone 1-1 in his appearances for Warrior Xtreme Cagefighting. His most recent outing ended in a decision defeat for the promotion’s flyweight title this past December.

He announced the news of his signing with ARES FC on his Instagram on Wednesday.

“Excited to announce that I’ve signed with @ares_fighting, it’s a great promotion based out of Africa and Paris. With that being said I hope all my fans stay tuned to my career and I’m excited to build more of a fan base out of the US!! LETS GO it’s SHOWTIME BABY!! .”

After racking up six straight wins en route to capturing the Venator FC lightweight title, Belluardo (12-5) was signed to the UFC in April 2019. But the Italian never was able to get going and suffered back-to-back stoppage losses to Joel Alvarez and Mark Madsen before he was released from the promotion this past November.

Belluardo was scheduled to make his Cage Warriors debut against Mason Jones in March, but pulled out due to the growing COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. His next appearance now will come under the ARES FC banner. The promotion announced his signing Thursday.

Shelton and Belluardo join the likes of UFC veterans Will Brooks, Nordine Taleb, Juan Adams and Wilson Reis as recent additions to the ARES FC roster.

[vertical-gallery id=362458]