Bellator News

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2018

Last night, costumed kids all over North America hit the streets on an indomitable quest for candy. This morning, these sugar-addled children are testing the very limits of their parents’ and teachers’ resolve, throwing temper tantrums and coating classroom floors in chocolate bar wrappers. Of course, children aren’t the only people who celebrate Halloween. While the kids were out trolling for sweets, many adults donned costumes of their own to celebrate the occasion. That includes some of the biggest names in our fine sport.

Cole Shelton - October 31, 2018

With 2018 closing out, news about the first UFC cards of 2019 is starting to leak. For example, we now know when are where the first pay-per-view of the year will occur.  On Jan. 26, the UFC will be heading back to the Honda Center in Anaheim, California for UFC 233, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Tom Taylor - October 24, 2018

Earlier today, news broke that the UFC and Singapore-based MMA promotion ONE Championship were closing in on a historic trade that would send former UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson to Asia, and former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren to the UFC’s Octagon. If this trade works out, it will be a massive moment in the history of our sport, as there is not much of a precedent for major promotions swapping one fighter for another on a permanent or even long-term basis. While promotions like Bellator and Rizin have shared talent before, they have not ever truly traded fighters.

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2018

Last weekend, in the main event of Bellator 208, former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen was stopped in the first round by heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. Post-fight Sonnen was quick to offer praise to Emelianenko. In fact, Sonnen says he considers Fedor Emelianenko the best heavyweight in MMA history, while he also considers Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett frontrunners in that debate.

Chris Taylor - October 19, 2018

Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader will collide in the final of Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament on January 26 in Inglewood. The former PRIDE champion and mixed martial arts legend, Fedor Emelianenko, advanced to the tournament finals by defeating Chael Sonnen via first-round TKO in the main event of Bellator 208 (watch that here).

Tom Taylor - October 17, 2018

Michael Chandler is one of the best lightweight fighters in the world. For the moment, however, he is not able to test himself against the sport’s consensus best lightweight fighter, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. That’s because Chandler currently calls Bellator MMA home, whereas Nurmagomedov is tied up with a UFC contract. While Michael Chandler and Khabib Nurmagomedov currently fight for different promotions, Chandler believes it’s possible they’ll find themselves under the same roof in the future. He could wind up in the UFC, or Nurmagomedov could end up in Bellator. In fact, he believes it’s possible the UFC champ could be fighting for Bellator within a year or two.

Cole Shelton - October 17, 2018

Bellator recently announced they will be heading to Hawaii on back-to-back nights on December 14 and 15. While both cards will feature title fights, another fight that is a rather interesting one is former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will be taking on Bellator veteran Javy Ayala on the first of the two cards. Javy Ayala received the call to fight Mir in September and knew it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Tom Taylor - October 16, 2018

Last Saturday night, in the main event of Bellator 208, former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen stepped into the cage with heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. Although Sonnen had some success with his wrestling in this fight, he was ultimately stopped in the waning moments of the first round, as Emelianenko unleashed a veritable meteor shower of ground-and-pound upon his head. Speaking on The MMA Hour on Monday, Chael Sonnen opened up on this loss. He says that, after being dropped early and pounded out on the mat, he’s in significant physical pain. No surprise there.

Cole Shelton - October 14, 2018

At Bellator 208, Chael Sonnen was taking on arguably the best heavyweight in MMA history, Fedor Emelianenko. Ultimately, Emelianenko’s power proved to be too much for the former middleweight and natural light heavyweight. Emelianenko dropped Sonnen multiple times during the fight and got the TKO win in the first round. However, even with this loss to Emelianenko, Sonnen can take pride in having fought the best of the best throughout his career. He competed in title fights against the arguable middleweight GOAT in Anderson Silva, and the consensus light heavyweight GOAT in Jon Jones.

Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo5qifbn776/ On Saturday night, in the main event of Bellator 208, heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko stepped into the cage with former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen in hopes of earning a spot in the finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018

On Saturday night, in the co-main event of the action-packed Bellator 208 card, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson picked up a dominant decision win over longtime Bellator lightweight contender Saad Awad. In his post-fight interview with Bellator MMA commentator John McCarthy, Benson Henderson could have taken a moment to call for another Bellator title shot, or perhaps a rematch with fellow lightweight contender Patricky Freire. Instead, however, the former champion used his post-fight interview as an opportunity to admonish UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor for their infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl.

Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018

Over the weekend, Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko both won their Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal bouts, defeating Matt Mitrione and Chael Sonnen respectively. With these wins, the pair will now fight each other sometime in the new year, and the winner will be crowned the Bellator heavyweight champion. For Ryan Bader, the chance to fight the legendary Fedor Emelianenko is obviously an exciting opportunity. Yet while he admits it’s a little surreal to fight such an icon of the sport, he assures he’s approaching it like any other fight.