A mixed martial artist from Edmonton is set to make his debut for international MMA promotion Bellator.

Dominique Wooding also known as ‘Black Panther’, has a professional MMA record of five wins and two losses as he prepares to enter the cage at Bellator Birmingham on Saturday, May 4, to be held at the Resorts World Arena.

Wooding is a member of the Titan Fighter Gym in Tottenham, where he trains alongside some of the other hottest prospects in British MMA and he is coached by former UFC fighter Brad Pickett.

The 22-year-old said: “Training at Team Titan is brilliant. It’s great to have Brad Pickett as a coach. Obviously now he’s retired he helps out the younger fighters like myself and helps me get in to the best place I can be for a fight.

“I’m looking forward to making a statement in Birmingham. It’s great that Bellator have started a European series and are doing a lot more shows over here.”

Wooding was set to make his Bellator debut in Newcastle earlier this year but was left disappointed after his opponent dropped out following the weigh-ins.

“I was gutted that fight didn’t happen. I weighed in on weighing day and as soon as I came off the scale and went to my hotel room, Bellator’s match maker called me and told me to come downstairs,” he said.

“My opponent had fractured his knee. I don’t understand how he fractured his knee ahead of the biggest fight of his career, but Bellator looked after me and I still got paid so I thank them for that.”

‘Black Panther’s’ opponent for this one comes in the form of 31-year-old David ‘Demolition Man’ Khalsa, from Kidderminster.

Wooding said: “David is small and a brawler-type fighter. We’ve fought together on a couple of cards in the past but he’s not on my level. The level I’m at will be shown on fight night and make no mistake about it, I’m coming here to make a statement.

“One I make my debut for Bellator, they’re going to see what I have to offer and I’m going to force their hand to get me over to the States to compete with some of the top guys in America.”

Tickets for Bellator Birmingham: Primus vs. Wilde are on sale now and can be purchased from TheTicketFactory.com and Bellator.com, as well as the Resorts World Arena box office.