Bellator’s longtime strategy has been to fill its preliminary cards with local fighters.

For starters, the local fighters help sell tickets. And when the promotion returns to that market, it has a database of local talent to pluck from again.

Once in a while, though, the promotion finds a diamond in the rough that it separates from the rest of the pack. That happened at Bellator 194 earlier this month for Mike Kimbel (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA).

Against Geoffrey Then (0-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., not far from Kimbel’s home base, he landed a vicious right hand early in their bantamweight fight on the prelims. When Then hit the canvas, Kimbel was all over him in a hurry.

Then threatened with an armbar, but Kimbel slammed him to the canvas, dropping him on his neck and head to break the hold. From there, it took a few more heavy hands for Kimbel to put Then away for a 63-second knockout win in his pro debut. He had gone 4-4 as an amateur.

Bellator now has rewarded Kimbel with a multi-fight deal, the promotion revealed to MMAjunkie. It won’t be just prelims at Mohegan Sun Arena for Kimbel now.

“It’s a blessing, truly,” Kimbel today told MMAjunkie. “A lot of people don’t even get to make their professional debut with an organization like Bellator, let alone get signed. Normally, they’ll bring them in for the ticket sales, then tell them, ‘All right, we’ll hit you up when we’re in the area,’ and then they’ll go and fight on the local scene. But I know what I’m capable of, and I think they got a little taste of it.”

Kimbel said the expectations of a highlight-reel debut won’t affect him. He doesn’t have a second Bellator fight booked yet, but said he’ll be ready whenever the promotion calls.

Ideally, he’d like to be back by June at the latest. And if his sophomore effort doesn’t look the same as his debut, he’s OK with it.

“I don’t feel I have to live up to any expectations to anyone besides myself – I’m my biggest critic,” Kimbel said. “… I just come in there to finish fights, no matter what. I don’t feel any added pressure or anything like that. My expectations are high enough. Me trying to be a better me, every single day, the sky’s the limit. And I think people will appreciate that.”

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.